AU OPTRONICS CORP. AND CITIBANK, N.A., As Depositary, AND ALL HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES EVIDENCED BY AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING UNDER THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT, DATED AS OF MAY 29, 2002 Amendment...
EXHIBIT
2.2
CONFORMED
COPY
AND
CITIBANK,
N.A.,
As
Depositary,
AND
ALL
HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF
AMERICAN
DEPOSITARY SHARES EVIDENCED BY
AMERICAN
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS
ISSUED
AND
OUTSTANDING UNDER THE
DEPOSIT
AGREEMENT, DATED AS OF MAY 29, 2002
Amendment
No. 1
to
____________________________
Dated
as
of February 15, 2006
AMENDMENT
NO. 1 TO DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
AMENDMENT
NO. 1 TO DEPOSIT AGREEMENT, dated as of February 15, 2006 (the
“Amendment”), by and among AU Optronics Corp., a company organized and
existing under the laws of the Republic of China (the “Company”),
Citibank, N.A., a national banking association organized under the laws of
the
United States of America (the “Depositary”), and all Holders and
Beneficial Owners from time to time of American Depositary Shares evidenced
by
American Depositary Receipts issued and outstanding under the Deposit Agreement,
dated as of May 29, 2002.
WITNESSETH
THAT:
WHEREAS,
the Company and the Depositary entered into that certain Deposit Agreement,
dated as of May 29, 2002 (the “Deposit Agreement”), for the creation of
American Depositary Shares representing the Shares (as defined in the Deposit
Agreement) so deposited and for the execution and delivery of American
Depositary Receipts (“Receipts”) in respect of the American Depositary
Shares (“ADSs”); and
WHEREAS,
the Company Law of the Republic of China has been amended to permit certain
shareholders of the Company to make proposals to be considered at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders and the Company desires to amend
the Deposit Agreement to reflect such change and to permit Beneficial Owners
of
ADSs, subject to the conditions set forth herein, to instruct the Depositary
to
make a proposal for consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company’s shareholders; and
WHEREAS,
the Company Law of the Republic of China has been amended to permit certain
shareholders of the Company to nominate candidates to be considered for election
as directors at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election
of directors if the
2
Company
amends its Articles of Incorporation to adopt a Candidate Nomination System,
as
hereinafter defined, and the Company desires to amend the Deposit Agreement
to
reflect such change and to permit Beneficial Owners of ADSs, subject to the
amendment of the Company's Articles of Incorporation and the conditions set
forth herein, to instruct the Depositary to nominate candidates to be considered
for election as directors at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders;
and
WHEREAS,
pursuant to Section 6.1 of the Deposit Agreement, the Company and the Depositary
deem it desirable to amend the Deposit Agreement, the Receipts currently
outstanding and the form of Receipt annexed to the Deposit Agreement as
Exhibit A for the purposes set forth herein.
NOW,
THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency
of
which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and the Depositary hereby agree
to
amend the Deposit Agreement, the Receipts and the form of Receipt attached
as
Exhibit A to the Deposit Agreement as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
SECTION
1.01. Definitions. Unless
otherwise specified in this Amendment, all capitalized terms used, but not
defined, herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Deposit
Agreement.
SECTION
1.02. Effective Date. The
term “Effective Date” shall mean the date set forth above and as of which
this Amendment shall become effective.
3
ARTICLE
II
AMENDMENTS
TO DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
SECTION
2.01. Deposit Agreement. All
references in the Deposit Agreement to the term “Deposit Agreement” shall, as of
the Effective Date, refer to the Deposit Agreement, dated as of May 29, 2002,
as
amended by this Amendment.
SECTION
2.02. Principal Office. The
definition of “Principal Office” in Section 1.30 of the Deposit Agreement is, as
of the Effective Date, deleted in its entirety and in its stead the following
is
inserted:
“SECTION
1.30. “Principal Office”, when used with respect to the Depositary,
shall mean the principal office of the Depositary at which at any particular
time its depositary receipts business shall be administered, which, at the
date
of the Deposit Agreement, is located at 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx
Xxxx
00000, X.X.X.”
SECTION
2.03. Submission of Proposals. The
Deposit Agreement is hereby amended, as of the Effective Date, to add the
following Section 4.16 at the end of Article IV of the Deposit
Agreement:
“Section
4.16 Right to Submit Proposals at Annual Ordinary Meeting of
Shareholders.
(a) Proposals
by Shareholders.
The
Company has informed the Depositary that under ROC Company Law, as in effect
as
of the date of the Deposit Agreement, holders of one percent (1%) or more of
the
total issued and outstanding Shares of the Company as of the applicable record
date for determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at an annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders (the “Shareholder Proposal
Record Date”), are entitled to submit one (1) written proposal (such
proposal shall not include a Beneficial Owner's right to nominate candidates
for
election as directors at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders in accordance
with the terms and subject to the conditions of Section 4.17 hereof, the
“Proposal”) each year for consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of
the Company’s shareholders, providedthat: (i) the
Proposal is in the Chinese language and does not exceed 300 Chinese characters
(including the reason(s) for the Proposal and all punctuation marks) in length,
(ii) the Proposal is submitted to the Company prior to the expiration of the
period for submission of Proposals (the
4
“Submission
Period”) announced by the Company (which Submission Period and the place for
eligible shareholders to submit the Proposal the Company undertakes to announce
publicly each year in a report on Form 6-K submitted to the Commission
prior to the commencement of the 60 days closed period prior to the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders), (iii) only one (1) matter for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders shall
be allowed in each Proposal, and (iv) the proposing shareholder shall attend,
in
person or by a proxy, such annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders
whereat his or her or its Proposal is to be discussed in the Chinese language
and such proposing shareholder, or his or her or its proxy, shall take part
in
the discussion of such Proposal in the Chinese language. As the
holder of the Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee is entitled,
provided the conditions of ROC law are satisfied, to submit only one (1)
Proposal each year in respect of all of the Shares held on deposit as of the
applicable Shareholder Proposal Record Date. Holders and Beneficial
Owners of ADSs do not under ROC law have individual rights to submit Proposals
to the Company for consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders but may be able to submit Proposals to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders if
the Beneficial Owners (i) timely present their ADSs to the Depositary for
cancellation pursuant to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and become holders
of Shares in the ROC prior to the expiration of the Submission Period and prior
to the applicable Shareholder Proposal Record Date, and (ii) otherwise satisfy
the conditions of ROC law applicable to the submission of Proposals to the
Company for consideration at an annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders. Beneficial Owners of ADSs may not receive sufficient
advance notice of an annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders to
enable the timely withdrawal of Shares to make a Proposal to the Company and
may
not be able to re-deposit under the Deposit Agreement the Shares so
withdrawn. The Company has informed the Depositary that a Proposal
shall only be voted upon at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders if the Proposal is accepted by the board of directors of the
Company as eligible in accordance with Article 172-1 of the ROC Company Law
and
the Company's Articles of Incorporation for consideration at an annual ordinary
meeting of the Company’s shareholders.
(b) Single
Proposal by Depositary or its Nominee on behalf of Beneficial
Owners.
Holders and
Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual proposal rights. The
Depositary will, if so requested by (a) Beneficial Owner(s) as of the applicable
ADS Record Date that own(s), individually or as a group, at least 51% of the
ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (such Beneficial Owner(s),
the “Submitting Holder(s)”), submit to the Company for consideration at
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders one (1) Proposal each
year, provided that: (i) the Proposal submitted to the
Depositary by the Submitting Holder(s) is in the Chinese language and does
not
exceed 300 Chinese characters (including the reason(s) for the Proposal and
all
punctuation marks) in
5
length,
(ii) the Proposal is submitted to the Depositary by the Submitting Holder(s)
at
least two (2) Business Days prior to the expiration of the Submission Period,
(iii) the Proposal is accompanied by a written certificate signed by each
Submitting Holder, addressed to the Depositary and the Company and in a form
satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the “First Proposal
Certificate”), certifying, inter alia, (w) that each Submitting
Holder has only certified the said Proposal, (x) that the Submitting
Holder(s) own(s), individually or in the aggregate, at least 51% of the ADSs
outstanding as of the date the Proposal is submitted by the Submitting Holder(s)
to the Depositary (the “Proposal Submission Date”), (y) if the Proposal
Submission Date is (i) on or after the applicable ADS Record Date, that the
Submitting Holder(s) owned at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the
applicable ADS Record Date, and (ii) prior to the applicable ADS Record Date,
that the Submitting Holder(s) will continue to own at least 51% of the ADSs
outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date and will provide the Second
Proposal Certificate, as defined below, and (z) the name(s) and address(es)
of the Submitting Holder(s) and the number of ADSs owned by each Submitting
Holder (together with certified evidence of each Submitting Holder’s ownership
of the applicable ADSs as of the Proposal Submission Date, in the case of
(y)(ii) above, and the applicable ADS Record Date, in the case of (y)(i) above),
(iv) if the Proposal Submission Date is prior to the applicable ADS Record
Date,
the Submitting Holder(s) must also provide, within five (5) Business Days after
the applicable ADS Record Date, a second written certificate signed by each
Submitting Holder, addressed to the Depositary and the Company and in a form
satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the “Second Proposal
Certificate”), certifying, inter alia, that the Submitting
Holder(s) continued to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the
applicable ADS Record Date (together with certified evidence of each Submitting
Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of such applicable ADS Record
Date), (v) the Proposal is accompanied by a joint and several irrevocable
undertaking of all Submitting Holders (which undertaking may be contained in
the
First Proposal Certificate or the Second Proposal Certificate) that each such
Submitting Holder shall pay all fees and expenses incurred in relation to the
submission of the Proposal for voting at the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company’s shareholders (including, but not limited to, the costs and expenses of
the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, to attend
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders), (vi) the Shares
registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee as representative of
the
Holders and Beneficial Owners constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total
issued and outstanding Shares of the Company as of the Shareholder Proposal
Record Date, (vii) such Proposal contains only one (1) matter for consideration
at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders, and (viii) the
Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, attend(s) the
annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders and take(s) part in the
discussions of the Proposal in the Chinese language,
providedfurtherthat only one (1) individual may attend, and
take part in the discussion of the Proposal at such annual ordinary meeting
on
behalf of a Submitting Holder(s). Each
6
Beneficial
Owner hereby agrees and acknowledges that (i) if the Submitting Holder(s),
or
his, her, its or their representative, does not attend the annual ordinary
meeting of the Company's shareholders, the chairman of such meeting may ask
the
attending shareholders to discuss, or not discuss, the Proposal, and (ii) in
no
event shall a Submitting Holder’s, or his, her, its or their representative's,
presence at an annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders entitle
such Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, to vote
the
Shares represented by such Submitting Holder’s ADSs (or any other ADSs) at such
annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders.
Upon
the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Proposal which the Depositary reasonably
believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding paragraph,
the
Depositary shall submit a copy of such Proposal and of the other materials
received from the Submitting Holder(s) to the Company prior to the expiration
of
the Submission Period. Any Proposal so submitted as to which the
Depositary has not received within five (5) Business Days after the applicable
ADS Record Date any Second Proposal Certificate required under the immediately
preceding paragraph shall be deemed irrevocably withdrawn at the expiration
of
such five (5) Business Day period. In the event the Depositary
receives more than one (1) Proposal by a Submitting Holder, or a group of
Submitting Holders, each of which appears to satisfy the requirements set forth
in the immediately preceding paragraph, the Depositary is hereby authorized
and
instructed to disregard all Proposals received from such Submitting Holder(s),
except for the first Proposal received by the Depositary from such Submitting
Holder(s) and shall submit such Proposal to the Company for consideration at
the
annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders in accordance with the
terms hereof. The Depositary shall not have any obligation to verify
the accuracy of the information contained in any document submitted to it by
the
Submitting Holder(s). Neither the Depositary nor its nominee shall be
obligated to attend and speak at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders on behalf of the Submitting Holder(s).
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company
has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not
be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the proposal rights, including, without limitation, notice of the
Submission Period, or the receipt of any Proposal(s) from Submitting Holders,
or
of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons, except that the Depositary shall,
upon a Holder's request, inform such Holder of the total number of ADSs then
issued and outstanding.”
7
SECTION
2.04. Submission of Nominations. The
Deposit Agreement is hereby amended, as of the Effective Date, to add the
following Section 4.17 at the end of Article IV of the Deposit
Agreement:
“Section
4.17 Right to Submit Nominations at Meeting of
Shareholders.
(a) No
Right Absent Amendment to Articles of Incorporation.
No
rights
under this Section 4.17 shall be effective absent an amendment to the Company’s
Articles of Incorporation adopting a system whereby candidates may be nominated
by holders of Shares to serve on the Company’s board of directors (a
“Candidate Nomination System”) and any rights so arising shall, at all
times, be subject to the provisions of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation,
as amended, and ROC Company Law, as amended.
(b) Nominations
by Shareholders.
The
Company has informed the Depositary that under ROC Company Law, in the event
that the Company amends its Articles of Incorporation to adopt a Candidate
Nomination System, holders of one percent (1%) or more of the total issued
and
outstanding Shares of the Company as of the applicable record date for
determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at a meeting of the
Company’s shareholders (the “Candidate Nomination Record Date”), would be
entitled to submit a roster of candidates (the “Nomination”) to be
considered for nomination to the Company’s board of directors at a meeting of
the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors, provided
that: (i) the number of director candidates contained in the Nomination
shall not exceed the number of the directors to be elected at such meeting,
(ii)
the Nomination is submitted to the Company prior to the expiration of the period
for submission of Nominations (the “Nomination Submission Period”)
announced by the Company (which Nomination Submission Period, the number of
the
directors to be elected, the place for eligible shareholders to submit the
Nomination and other applicable information the Company undertakes to announce
publicly in a report on Form 6-K submitted to the Commission prior to the
commencement of the 60 days (for an ordinary meeting) or 30 days (for an
extraordinary meeting) closed period prior to the subject meeting of the
Company’s shareholders), (iii) the Nomination shall contain the name,
educational background and past work experience of each director candidate
identified in the Nomination, (iv) the Nomination shall include a letter of
consent issued by each director candidate identified in the Nomination
consenting to act as director if she/he/it is elected as such, (v) a written
statement by each director candidate assuring that she/he/it is not in violation
of any of the circumstances set forth in Article 30 of the ROC Company Law,
as
amended, (vi) if a director candidate is a corporate shareholder of the Company
(which cannot be the Depositary or its nominee), or such corporate shareholder's
representative,
8
additional
information and documents reflecting the basic registration information of
such
corporate shareholder and the document certifying the number of Shares in its
possession have been included, and (vii) any further conditions under Article
192-1 of the ROC Company Law, as amended, and of the Company’s amended Articles
of Incorporation are so satisfied. In the event that the Company were
to amend its Articles of Incorporation to adopt a Candidate Nomination System,
as holder of the Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee would
be
entitled, provided the conditions of the Company’s amended Articles of
Incorporation are satisfied, to submit only one (1) Nomination for each meeting
involving the election of directors in respect of all of the Shares held on
deposit as of the Candidate Nomination Record Date. The Company shall
promptly notify the Depositary of an amendment of its Articles of Incorporation
adopting a Candidate Nomination System. Holders and Beneficial Owners
of ADSs do
not under ROC law have individual rights to submit Nominations to the Company
for consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving
the election of directors but may
be able to submit a Nomination to the Company for consideration at a meeting
of
the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors if the Beneficial
Owners (i) timely present their ADSs to the Depositary for cancellation pursuant
to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and become holders of Shares in the ROC
prior to the expiration of the Nomination Submission Period and prior to the
Candidate Nomination Record Date, and (ii) otherwise satisfy the conditions
of
ROC law applicable to the submission of Nominations to the Company for
consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election
of directors. Beneficial Owners of ADSs may not receive sufficient
advance notice of a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election
of directors to enable the timely withdrawal of Shares to make a Nomination
to
the Company and may not be able to re-deposit under the Deposit Agreement the
Shares so withdrawn. The Company has informed the Depositary that a
Nomination shall only be voted upon at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders
involving the election of directors if the Nomination is accepted by the board
of directors of the Company as eligible in accordance with Article 192-1 of
the
ROC Company Law and the Company's Article of Incorporation for consideration
at
a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election of
directors.
(c) Single
Nomination by Depositary or its Nominee on Behalf of Beneficial
Owners.
Holders
and Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual nomination
rights. In the event that the Company were to amend its Articles of
Incorporation to adopt a Candidate Nomination System, the Depositary would,
if
so requested by (a) Beneficial Owner(s) as of the applicable ADS Record Date
that own(s), individually or as a group, at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding
as
of the applicable ADS Record Date (such Beneficial Owner(s), the “Nominating
Holder(s)”), submit to the Company for consideration at a meeting of the
Company’s shareholders involving
the election of directors one (1) Nomination, provided
that: (i) the number of director candidates contained in the
Nomination
9
shall
not
exceed the number of the directors to be elected at such meeting, (ii) the
Nomination shall contain the name, educational background and past work
experience of each director candidate identified in the Nomination, (iii) the
Nomination shall include a letter of consent issued by each director candidate
identified in the Nomination consenting to act as director if she/he/it is
elected as such, (iv) a written statement by each director candidate assuring
that she/he/it is not in violation of any of the circumstances set forth in
Article 30 of the ROC Company Law, as amended, (v) if a director candidate
is
corporate shareholder of the Company (which cannot be the Depositary or its
nominee), or such corporate shareholder's representative, additional information
and documents reflecting the basic registration information of such corporate
shareholder and the document certifying the number of Shares in its possession
have been included, (vi) any further conditions under Article 192-1 of the
ROC
Company Law, as amended, and of the Company’s amended Articles of Incorporation
are so satisfied, (vii) the Nomination is submitted to the Depositary by the
Nominating Holder(s) at least two (2) Business Days prior to the expiration
of
the Nomination Submission Period, (viii) the Nomination is accompanied by a
written certificate signed by each Nominating Holder, addressed to the
Depositary and the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and
the
Company (the “First Nomination Certificate”), certifying, inter
alia, (w) that each Nominating Holder has only endorsed the said
Nomination, (x) that the Nominating Holder(s) own(s), individually or in
the aggregate, at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the date the
Nomination is submitted by the Nominating Holder(s) to the Depositary (the
“Nomination Submission Date”), (y) if the Nomination Submission Date is
(i) on or after the applicable ADS Record Date, that the Nominating Holder(s)
owned at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record
Date,
and (ii) prior to the applicable ADS Record Date, that the Nominating Holder(s)
will continue to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable
ADS Record Date and will provide the Second Nomination Certificate, as defined
below, and (z) the name(s) and address(es) of the Nominating Holder(s) and
the number of ADSs owned by each Nominating Holder (together with certified
evidence of each Nominating Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of the
Nomination Submission Date, in the case of (y)(ii) above, and the applicable
ADS
Record Date, in the case of (y)(i) above), (ix) if the Nomination Submission
Date is prior to the applicable ADS Record Date, the Nominating Holder(s) must
also provide, within five (5) Business Days after the applicable ADS Record
Date, a second written certificate signed by each Nominating Holder addressed
to
the Depositary and the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary
and
the Company (the “Second Nomination Certificate”), certifying, inter
alia, that the Nominating Holder(s) continued to own at least 51% of the
ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (together with certified
evidence of each Nominating Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of such
applicable ADS Record Date), (x) the Nomination is accompanied by a joint and
several irrevocable undertaking of all Nominating Holders (which undertaking
may
be contained in the First Nomination Certificate or the Second Nomination
Certificate) that each such Nominating Holder shall pay all fees and
10
expenses
incurred in relation to the submission of the Nomination at the meeting of
the
Company’s shareholders, and (xi) the Shares registered in the name of the
Depositary or its nominee as representative of the Holders and Beneficial Owners
constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total issued and outstanding Shares
of the Company as of the Candidate Nomination Record
Date. Each Beneficial Owner hereby agrees and acknowledges
that in no event shall the Depositary or its nominee be nominated by the
Nominating Holder(s) for election as a director at a meeting of the Company's
shareholders.
Upon
the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Nomination which the Depositary
reasonably believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding
paragraph, the Depositary shall submit a copy of such Nomination and of the
other materials received from the Nominating Holder(s) to the Company prior
to
the expiration of the Nomination Submission Period. Any Nomination so
submitted as to which the Depositary has not received within five (5) Business
Days after the applicable ADS Record Date any Second Nomination Certificate
required under the immediately preceding paragraph shall be deemed irrevocably
withdrawn at the expiration of such five (5) Business Day period. In
the event the Depositary receives more than one (1) Nomination by a Nominating
Holder, or a group of Nominating Holders, each of which appears to satisfy
the
requirements set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, the Depositary
is
hereby authorized and instructed to disregard all Nominations received from
such
Nominating Holder(s), except for the first Nomination received by the Depositary
from such Nominating Holder(s) and shall submit such Nomination to the Company
for consideration at a meeting of the Company's shareholders involving the
election of directors in accordance with the terms hereof. The
Depositary shall not have any obligation to verify the accuracy of the
information contained in any document submitted to it by the Nominating
Holder(s). Neither the Depositary nor its nominee shall be obligated
to attend and speak at the meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the
election of directors on behalf of the Nominating Holder(s).
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company
has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not
be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the nomination rights, including, without limitation, notice of
the
Nomination Submission Period, or the receipt of any Nomination(s) from
Nominating Holders, or of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons, except that
the Depositary shall, upon a Holder's request, inform such Holder of the total
number of ADSs then issued and outstanding..”
11
ARTICLE
III
AMENDMENTS
TO THE RECEIPTS
SECTION
3.01. Amendments
to Receipts.
(a) The
last
sentence of the introductory paragraph of the form of Receipt attached as
Exhibit A to the Deposit Agreement and of each of the Receipts issued and
outstanding under the Deposit Agreement as of the Effective Date is hereby
amended as of the Effective Date by deleting such sentence in its entirety
and
inserting the following in its stead: “The Depositary’s Principal
Office is located at 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000,
X.X.X.”
(b) The
address of the Principal Office of the Depositary identified on the bottom
of
the front page of the Receipt attached as Exhibit A to the Deposit Agreement
and
of each of the Receipts issued and outstanding under the Deposit Agreement
as of
the Effective Date is hereby amended as of the Effective Date by identifying
such address as “000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000,
X.X.X.”
(c) The
first
sentence of paragraph (1) of the form of Receipt attached as Exhibit A to the
Deposit Agreement and of each of the Receipts is issued and outstanding under
the terms of the Deposit Agreement as of the Effective Date is hereby amended
as
of the Effective Date by deleting such sentence in its entirety and inserting
the following in its stead:
“This
American Depositary Receipt is one of an issue of American Depositary Receipts
(“Receipts”), all issued and to be issued upon the terms and conditions set
forth in the Deposit Agreement, dated as of May 29, 2002, as amended by
Amendment No. 1 to Deposit Agreement, dated as of February 15, 2006 (as so
amended and further amended from time to time, the “Deposit Agreement”), by and
among the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and Beneficial Owners from
time to time of American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) evidenced by Receipts issued
thereunder, each of whom by accepting an ADS (or an interest therein) agrees
to
become a party thereto and becomes bound by all the terms and provisions
thereof.”
12
SECTION
3.02. Addition
to Receipts.
Each
of
the Receipts issued and outstanding as of the Effective Date and the form of
Receipt attached as Exhibit A to the Deposit Agreement is hereby amended as
of
the Effective Date to add the following Paragraphs (25) and (26) at the end
of
the Receipt:
“(25) Right
to Submit Proposals at Annual Ordinary Meeting of Shareholders.
(a) Proposals
by Shareholders.
The
Company has informed the Depositary that under ROC Company Law, as in effect
as
of the date of the Deposit Agreement, holders of one percent (1%) or more of
the
total issued and outstanding Shares of the Company as of the applicable record
date for determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at an annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders (the “Shareholder Proposal
Record Date”), are entitled to submit one (1) written proposal (such
proposal shall not include a Beneficial Owner's right to nominate candidates
for
election as directors at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders in accordance
with the terms and subject to the conditions of Section 4.17 of the Deposit
Agreement, the “Proposal”) each year for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders,
providedthat: (i) the Proposal is in the Chinese
language and does not exceed 300 Chinese characters (including the reason(s)
for
the Proposal and all punctuation marks) in length, (ii) the Proposal is
submitted to the Company prior to the expiration of the period for submission
of
Proposals (the “Submission Period”) announced by the Company (which
Submission Period and the place for eligible shareholders to submit the Proposal
the Company undertakes to announce publicly each year in a report on
Form 6-K submitted to the Commission prior to the commencement of the 60
days closed period prior to the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders), (iii) only one (1) matter for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders shall be allowed in each
Proposal, and (iv) the proposing shareholder shall attend, in person or by
a
proxy, such annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders whereat his or
her or its Proposal is to be discussed in the Chinese language and such
proposing shareholder, or his or her or its proxy, shall take part in the
discussion of such Proposal in the Chinese language. As the holder of
the Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee is entitled, provided
the conditions of ROC law are satisfied, to submit only one (1) Proposal each
year in respect of all of the Shares held on deposit as of the applicable
Shareholder Proposal Record Date. Holders and Beneficial Owners of
ADSs do not under ROC law have individual rights to submit Proposals to the
Company for consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders but may be able to submit Proposals to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders if
the Beneficial Owners (i) timely present their ADSs to the Depositary for
cancellation pursuant to the terms
13
of
the
Deposit Agreement and become holders of Shares in the ROC prior to the
expiration of the Submission Period and prior to the applicable Shareholder
Proposal Record Date, and (ii) otherwise satisfy the conditions of ROC law
applicable to the submission of Proposals to the Company for consideration
at an
annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders. Beneficial
Owners of ADSs may not receive sufficient advance notice of an annual ordinary
meeting of the Company’s shareholders to enable the timely withdrawal of Shares
to make a Proposal to the Company and may not be able to re-deposit under the
Deposit Agreement the Shares so withdrawn. The Company has informed
the Depositary that a Proposal shall only be voted upon at the annual ordinary
meeting of the Company’s shareholders if the Proposal is accepted by the board
of directors of the Company as eligible in accordance with Article 172-1 of
the
ROC Company Law and the Company's Articles of Incorporation for consideration
at
an annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders.
(b) Single
Proposal by Depositary or its Nominee on behalf of Beneficial
Owners.
Holders and
Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual proposal rights. The
Depositary will, if so requested by (a) Beneficial Owner(s) as of the applicable
ADS Record Date that own(s), individually or as a group, at least 51% of the
ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (such Beneficial Owner(s),
the “Submitting Holder(s)”), submit to the Company for consideration at
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders one (1) Proposal each
year, provided that: (i) the Proposal submitted to the
Depositary by the Submitting Holder(s) is in the Chinese language and does
not
exceed 300 Chinese characters (including the reason(s) for the Proposal and
all
punctuation marks) in length, (ii) the Proposal is submitted to the Depositary
by the Submitting Holder(s) at least two (2) Business Days prior to the
expiration of the Submission Period, (iii) the Proposal is accompanied by a
written certificate signed by each Submitting Holder, addressed to the
Depositary and the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and
the
Company (the “First Proposal Certificate”), certifying, inter
alia, (w) that each Submitting Holder has only certified the said Proposal,
(x) that the Submitting Holder(s) own(s), individually or in the aggregate,
at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the date the Proposal is submitted
by
the Submitting Holder(s) to the Depositary (the “Proposal Submission
Date”), (y) if the Proposal Submission Date is (i) on or after the
applicable ADS Record Date, that the Submitting Holder(s) owned at least 51%
of
the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date, and (ii) prior to
the
applicable ADS Record Date, that the Submitting Holder(s) will continue to
own
at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date and
will provide the Second Proposal Certificate, as defined below, and (z) the
name(s) and address(es) of the Submitting Holder(s) and the number of ADSs
owned
by each Submitting Holder (together with certified evidence of each Submitting
Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of the Proposal Submission Date, in
the case of (y)(ii) above, and the applicable ADS Record Date, in the case
of
(y)(i) above)), (iv) if the Proposal Submission Date is prior to
14
the
applicable ADS Record Date, the Submitting Holder(s) must also provide, within
five (5) Business Days after the applicable ADS Record Date, a second written
certificate signed by each Submitting Holder, addressed to the Depositary and
the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the
“Second Proposal Certificate”), certifying, inter alia, that the
Submitting Holder(s) continued to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding
as of
the applicable ADS Record Date (together with certified evidence of each
Submitting Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of such applicable ADS
Record Date), (v) the Proposal is accompanied by a joint and several irrevocable
undertaking of all Submitting Holders (which undertaking may be contained in
the
First Proposal Certificate or the Second Proposal Certificate) that each such
Submitting Holder shall pay all fees and expenses incurred in relation to the
submission of the Proposal for voting at the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company’s shareholders (including, but not limited to, the costs and expenses of
the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, to attend
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders), (vi) the Shares
registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee as representative of
the
Holders and Beneficial Owners constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total
issued and outstanding Shares of the Company as of the Shareholder Proposal
Record Date, (vii) such Proposal contains only one (1) matter for consideration
at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders, and (viii) the
Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, attend(s) the
annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders and take(s) part in the
discussions of the Proposal in the Chinese language,
providedfurtherthat only one (1) individual may attend, and
take part in the discussion of the Proposal at such annual ordinary meeting
on
behalf of a Submitting Holder(s). Each Beneficial Owner hereby agrees
and acknowledges that (i) if the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or
their
representative, does not attend the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders, the chairman of such meeting may ask the attending shareholders
to
discuss, or not discuss, the Proposal, and (ii) in no event shall a Submitting
Holder’s, or his, her, its or their representative's, presence at an annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders entitle such Submitting
Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, to vote the Shares
represented by such Submitting Holder’s ADSs (or any other ADSs) at such annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders.
Upon
the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Proposal which the Depositary reasonably
believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding paragraph,
the
Depositary shall submit a copy of such Proposal and of the other materials
received from the Submitting Holder(s) to the Company prior to the expiration
of
the Submission Period. Any Proposal so submitted as to which the
Depositary has not received within five (5) Business Days after the applicable
ADS Record Date any Second Proposal Certificate required under the immediately
preceding paragraph shall be deemed irrevocably withdrawn at the expiration
of
such five (5) Business Day period. In the event the Depositary
15
receives
more than one (1) Proposal by a Submitting Holder, or a group of Submitting
Holders, each of which appears to satisfy the requirements set forth in the
immediately preceding paragraph, the Depositary is hereby authorized and
instructed to disregard all Proposals received from such Submitting Holder(s),
except for the first Proposal received by the Depositary from such Submitting
Holder(s) and shall submit such Proposal to the Company for consideration at
the
annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders in accordance with the
terms of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall not have any
obligation to verify the accuracy of the information contained in any document
submitted to it by the Submitting Holder(s). Neither the Depositary
nor its nominee shall be obligated to attend and speak at the annual ordinary
meeting of the Company’s shareholders on behalf of the Submitting
Holder(s).
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company
has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not
be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the proposal rights, including, without limitation, notice of the
Submission Period, or the receipt of any Proposal(s) from Submitting Holders,
or
of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons, except that the Depositary shall,
upon a Holder's request, inform such Holder of the total number of ADSs then
issued and outstanding.
(26) Right
to Submit Nominations at Meeting of Shareholders.
(a) No
Right Absent Amendment to Articles of Incorporation.
No
rights
under this paragraph shall be effective absent an amendment to the Company’s
Articles of Incorporation adopting a system whereby candidates may be nominated
by holders of Shares to serve on the Company’s board of directors (a
“Candidate Nomination System”) and any rights so arising shall, at all
times, be subject to the provisions of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation,
as amended, and ROC Company Law, as amended.
(b) Nominations
by Shareholders.
The
Company has informed the Depositary that under ROC Company Law, in the event
that the Company amends its Articles of Incorporation to adopt a Candidate
Nomination System, holders of one percent (1%) or more of the total issued
and
outstanding Shares of the Company as of the applicable record date for
determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at a meeting of the
Company’s shareholders (the “Candidate Nomination Record Date”), would be
entitled to submit a roster of candidates (the “Nomination”) to be
considered for nomination to the Company’s board of directors at a meeting of
the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors, provided
that: (i) the number of director candidates contained in the Nomination
shall not exceed the number of
16
the
directors to be elected at such meeting, (ii) the Nomination is submitted to
the
Company prior to the expiration of the period for submission of Nominations
(the
“Nomination Submission Period”) announced by the Company (which
Nomination Submission Period, the number of the directors to be elected, the
place for eligible shareholders to submit the Nomination and other applicable
information the Company undertakes to announce publicly in a report on Form
6-K
submitted to the Commission prior to the commencement of the 60 days (for an
ordinary meeting) or 30 days (for an extraordinary meeting) closed period prior
to the subject meeting of the Company’s shareholders), (iii) the Nomination
shall contain the name, educational background and past work experience of
each
director candidate identified in the Nomination, (iv) the Nomination shall
include a letter of consent issued by each director candidate identified in
the
Nomination consenting to act as director if she/he/it is elected as such, (v)
a
written statement by each director candidate assuring that she/he/it is not
in
violation of any of the circumstances set forth in Article 30 of the ROC Company
Law, as amended, (vi) if a director candidate is a corporate shareholder of
the
Company (which cannot be the Depositary or its nominee), or such corporate
shareholder's representative, additional information and documents reflecting
the basic registration information of such corporate shareholder and the
document certifying the number of Shares in its possession have been included,
and (vii) any further conditions under Article 192-1 of the ROC Company Law,
as
amended, and of the Company’s amended Articles of Incorporation are so
satisfied. In the event that the Company were to amend its Articles
of Incorporation to adopt a Candidate Nomination System, as holder of the
Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee would be entitled, provided
the conditions of the Company’s amended Articles of Incorporation are satisfied,
to submit only one (1) Nomination for each meeting involving the election of
directors in respect of all of the Shares held on deposit as of the Candidate
Nomination Record Date. The Company shall promptly notify the
Depositary of an amendment of its Articles of Incorporation adopting a Candidate
Nomination System. Holders and Beneficial Owners
of ADSs do
not under ROC law have individual rights to submit Nominations to the Company
for consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving
the election of directors but may
be able to submit a Nomination to the Company for consideration at a meeting
of
the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors if the Beneficial
Owners (i) timely present their ADSs to the Depositary for cancellation pursuant
to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and become holders of Shares in the ROC
prior to the expiration of the Nomination Submission Period and prior to the
Candidate Nomination Record Date, and (ii) otherwise satisfy the conditions
of
ROC law applicable to the submission of Nominations to the Company for
consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election
of directors. Beneficial Owners of ADSs may not receive sufficient
advance notice of a meeting of the
17
Company’s
shareholders involving the
election of directors to enable the timely withdrawal of Shares to make a
Nomination to the Company and may not be able to re-deposit under the Deposit
Agreement the Shares so withdrawn. The Company has informed the
Depositary that a Nomination shall only be voted upon at a meeting of the
Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors if the Nomination is
accepted by the board of directors of the Company as eligible in accordance
with
Article 192-1 of the ROC Company Law and the Company's Article of Incorporation
for consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the
election of directors.
(c) Single
Nomination by Depositary or its Nominee on Behalf of Beneficial
Owners.
Holders
and Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual nomination
rights. In the event that the Company were to amend its Articles of
Incorporation to adopt a Candidate Nomination System, the Depositary would,
if
so requested by (a) Beneficial Owner(s) as of the applicable ADS Record Date
that own(s), individually or as a group, at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding
as
of the applicable ADS Record Date (such Beneficial Owner(s), the “Nominating
Holder(s)”), submit to the Company for consideration at a meeting of the
Company’s shareholders involving
the election of directors one (1) Nomination, provided
that: (i) the number of director candidates contained in the
Nomination shall not exceed the number of the directors to be elected at such
meeting, (ii) the Nomination shall contain the name, educational background
and
past work experience of each director candidate identified in the Nomination,
(iii) the Nomination shall include a letter of consent issued by each director
candidate identified in the Nomination consenting to act as director if
she/he/it is elected as such, (iv) a written statement by each director
candidate assuring that she/he/it is not in violation of any of the
circumstances set forth in Article 30 of the ROC Company Law, as amended, (v)
if
a director candidate is corporate shareholder of the Company (which cannot
be
the Depositary or its nominee), or such corporate shareholder's representative,
additional information and documents reflecting the basic registration
information of such corporate shareholder and the document certifying the number
of Shares in its possession have been included, (vi) any further conditions
under Article 192-1 of the ROC Company Law, as amended, and of the Company’s
amended Articles of Incorporation are so satisfied, (vii) the Nomination is
submitted to the Depositary by the Nominating Holder(s) at least two (2)
Business Days prior to the expiration of the Nomination Submission Period,
(viii) the Nomination is accompanied by a written certificate signed by each
Nominating Holder, addressed to the Depositary and the Company and in a form
satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the “First Nomination
Certificate”), certifying, inter alia, (w) that each Nominating
Holder has only endorsed the said Nomination, (x) that the Nominating
Holder(s) own(s), individually or in the aggregate, at least 51% of the ADSs
outstanding as of the date the Nomination is submitted by the Nominating
Holder(s) to the Depositary (the “Nomination Submission Date”), (y) if
the Nomination Submission Date is (i) on or after the applicable ADS Record
Date, that the Nominating Holder(s) owned at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding
as of the applicable ADS Record Date, and (ii) prior to the applicable ADS
Record Date, that the Nominating Holder(s) will continue to own at least 51%
of
the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date and will provide
the
Second Nomination Certificate,
18
as
defined
below, and (z) the name(s) and address(es) of the Nominating Holder(s) and
the number of ADSs owned by each Nominating Holder (together with certified
evidence of each Nominating Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of the
Nomination Submission Date, in the case of (y)(ii) above, and the applicable
ADS
Record Date, in the case of (y)(i) above), (ix) if the Nomination Submission
Date is prior to the applicable ADS Record Date, the Nominating Holder(s) must
also provide, within five (5) Business Days after the applicable ADS Record
Date, a second written certificate signed by each Nominating Holder addressed
to
the Depositary and the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary
and
the Company (the “Second Nomination Certificate”), certifying, inter
alia, that the Nominating Holder(s) continued to own at least 51% of the
ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (together with certified
evidence of each Nominating Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of such
applicable ADS Record Date), (x) the Nomination is accompanied by a joint and
several irrevocable undertaking of all Nominating Holders (which undertaking
may
be contained in the First Nomination Certificate or the Second Nomination
Certificate) that each such Nominating Holder shall pay all fees and expenses
incurred in relation to the submission of the Nomination at the meeting of
the
Company’s shareholders, and (xi) the Shares registered in the name of the
Depositary or its nominee as representative of the Holders and Beneficial Owners
constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total issued and outstanding Shares
of the Company as of the Candidate Nomination Record
Date. Each Beneficial Owner hereby agrees and acknowledges
that in no event shall the Depositary or its nominee be nominated by the
Nominating Holder(s) for election as a director at a meeting of the Company's
shareholders.
Upon
the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Nomination which the Depositary
reasonably believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding
paragraph, the Depositary shall submit a copy of such Nomination and of the
other materials received from the Nominating Holder(s) to the Company prior
to
the expiration of the Nomination Submission Period. Any Nomination so
submitted as to which the Depositary has not received within five (5) Business
Days after the applicable ADS Record Date any Second Nomination Certificate
required under the immediately preceding paragraph shall be deemed irrevocably
withdrawn at the expiration of such five (5) Business Day period. In
the event the Depositary receives more than one (1) Nomination by a Nominating
Holder, or a group of Nominating Holders, each of which appears to satisfy
the
requirements set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, the Depositary
is
hereby authorized and instructed to disregard all Nominations received from
such
Nominating Holder(s), except for the first Nomination received by the Depositary
from such Nominating Holder(s) and shall submit such Nomination to the Company
for consideration at a meeting of the Company's shareholders involving the
election of directors in accordance with the terms of the Deposit
Agreement. The Depositary shall not have any obligation to verify the
accuracy of the information contained in any document submitted to it by the
Nominating Holder(s). Neither the Depositary nor its nominee shall be
obligated to attend and
19
speak
at
the meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors on
behalf of the Nominating Holder(s).
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company
has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not
be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the nomination rights, including, without limitation, notice of
the
Nomination Submission Period, or the receipt of any Nomination(s) from
Nominating Holders, or of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons, except that
the Depositary shall, upon a Holder's request, inform such Holder of the total
number of ADSs then issued and outstanding..”
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
SECTION
4.01. Representations and Warranties. The
Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Depositary and the
Holders and Beneficial Owners, that:
(a) This
Amendment, when executed and delivered by the Company, and the Deposit Agreement
and all other documentation executed and delivered by the Company in connection
therewith, will be and have been, respectively, duly and validly authorized,
executed and delivered by the Company, and constitute the legal, valid and
binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in
accordance with their respective terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency,
fraudulent transfer, moratorium and similar laws of general applicability
relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles;
and
(b) In
order
to ensure the legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence
of this Amendment or the Deposit Agreement as amended hereby, and other document
furnished hereunder or thereunder in the Republic of China, neither of such
agreements need to be filed or recorded with any court or other authority in
the
Republic of China, except for filing this Amendment with the Financial
Supervisory Commission, nor does any stamp or similar tax need be paid in the
Republic of China on or in respect of such agreements; and
20
(c) None
of
the terms of this Amendment violate or conflict with, nor does the execution
and
delivery of this Amendment, the filing of the related Post-Effective Amendment
No. 1 to the Registation Statement on Form F-6 or the consummation of the
transactions contemplated therein violate or conflict with any agreement to
which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound; and
(d) All
of the
information provided to the Depositary by the Company in connection with this
Amendment is true, accurate and correct.
ARTICLE
V
MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION
5.01. New Receipts. From
and after the Effective Date, the Depositary shall arrange to have new Receipts
printed or amended that reflect the changes to the form of Receipt effected
by
this Amendment. All Receipts issued hereunder after the Effective
Date, once such new Receipts are available, whether upon the deposit of Shares
or other Deposited Securities or upon the transfer, combination or split-up
of
existing Receipts, shall be substantially in the form of the specimen Receipt
attached as Exhibit A hereto. However, Receipts issued prior
or subsequent to the date hereof, which do not reflect the changes to the form
of Receipt effected hereby, do not need to be called in for exchange and may
remain outstanding until such time as the Holders thereof choose to surrender
them for any reason under the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary is
authorized and directed to take any and all actions deemed necessary to effect
the foregoing.
SECTION
5.02. Notice of Amendment to Holders. The
Depositary is hereby directed to send notices informing the Holders (i) of
the
terms of this Amendment, (ii) of the Effective Date of this Amendment, and
(iii)
that the Holders shall be given the opportunity, but that it is
21
unnecessary,
to substitute their Receipts with new Receipts reflecting the changes effected
by this Amendment, as provided in Section 5.01 hereof.
SECTION
5.03. Indemnification. The
Company hereby agrees that, to the extent the Depositary (or any of its
directors, employees and officers) incur any liability as a result of the terms
of this Amendment and the transactions contemplated herein, the Depositary
(and
all of its directors, employees and officers) shall be indemnified and held
harmless by the Company in the manner provided for in Section 5.8 of the Deposit
Agreement.
22
IN
WITNESS
WHEREOF, the Company and the Depositary have caused this Amendment to be
executed by representatives thereunto duly authorized as of the date set forth
above.
/s/
Xxxx-Xxx (K.Y.) Xxx
By:_____________________________
Chief
Executive Officer
CITIBANK,
N.A., as Depositary
/s/
Xxxx Xxxxxx
By:_____________________________
Vice
President
23
EXHIBIT
A
[FORM
OF RECEIPT]
CUSIP
NUMBER: 002255 10 7
Number
AUO ____________________
[American
Depositary Shares (each American Depositary Share representing ten (10) Fully
Paid shares of common stock, par NT$10.00 per share)]
[COP
American Depositary Shares (each COP American Depositary Share representing
an
undivided interest in a global Certificates of Payment, each interest
representing the irrevocable right to receive ten (10) Fully Paid shares of
common stock par value NT$10.00 per share)]
[EC
American Depositary Shares (each EC American Depositary Share representing
an
undivided interest in an Entitlement Certificate, each interest representing
the
irrevocable right to receive ten (10) shares of common stock par NT$10.00 per
share)]
A-1
AMERICAN
DEPOSITARY RECEIPT
FOR
AMERICAN
DEPOSITARY SHARES
representing
[DEPOSITED
SHARES OF COMMON STOCK]
[INTERESTS
IN THE DEPOSITED CERTIFICATE(S) OF PAYMENT]
[DEPOSITED
ENTITLEMENT CERTIFICATE(S)]
of
(Incorporated
under the laws of the Republic of China)
CITIBANK,
N.A., a national banking association organized and existing under the laws
of
the United States of America, as depositary (the “Depositary”), hereby
certifies that _____________is the owner of ______________ American Depositary
Shares (hereinafter “ADS”), representing deposited [shares of
common stock] [interests in the global Certificate(s) of Payment representing
the irrevocable right to receive shares of common stock] [Entitlement
Certificate(s) representing the irrevocable right to receive shares of common
stock], par value NT$10.00 per share, or evidence of rights to receive
such [shares of common stock (the
“Shares”)] [interests in the global
Certificate(s) of Payment (the “Certificate(s) of
Payment”][Entitlement Certificate(s) (the
“Entitlement Certificate(s)”)]
(such [Shares][Certificate(s) of Payment][Entitlement Certificate(s)]
are hereafter called “Eligible Securities”) of AU Optronics
Corp., a company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of China (the
“Company”). As of the date of the Deposit Agreement (as
hereinafter defined), each ADS represents [ten (10) Shares][an undivided
interest in an Entitlement Certificate, each interest representing the
irrevocable right to receive [ten (10)] Shares][an undivided interest in a
global Certificate(s) of Payment, each interest representing the irrevocable
right to receive ten (10) Shares] deposited under the Deposit Agreement
with the Custodian, which at the date of execution of the Deposit Agreement
is
Citibank, N.A., (Taipei) (the “Custodian”). The ratio of
American Depositary Shares to Eligible Securities is subject to amendment as
provided in Article IV of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary's
Principal Office is located at 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000,
X.X.X.
1. The
Deposit Agreement. This American Depositary Receipt is one of an
issue of American Depositary Receipts (“Receipts”), all issued and to be issued
upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Deposit Agreement, dated as
of
May 29, 2002, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Deposit Agreement, dated as
of
February 15, 2006 (as so amended and further amended from time to time, the
“Deposit Agreement”), by and among the Company, the Depositary and all Holders
and Beneficial Owners from time to time of American Depositary
A-2
Shares
(“ADSs”) evidenced by Receipts issued thereunder, each of whom by accepting an
ADS (or an interest therein) agrees to become a party thereto and becomes bound
by all the terms and provisions thereof. The Deposit Agreement sets
forth the rights and obligations of Holders and Beneficial Owners of Receipts
and the rights and duties of the Depositary in respect of the Eligible
Securities deposited thereunder and any and all other securities, property
and
cash from time to time received in respect of such Eligible Securities and
held
thereunder (such Eligible Securities, securities, property and cash are herein
called “Deposited Securities”). Copies of the Deposit Agreement are
on file at the Principal Office of the Depositary and with the
Custodian.
The
statements made on the face and reverse of this Receipt are summaries of certain
provisions of the Deposit Agreement and the Articles of Incorporation of the
Company (as in effect on the date of the signing of the Deposit Agreement)
and
are qualified by and subject to the detailed provisions of the Deposit Agreement
and the Articles of Incorporation, to which reference is hereby
made. All capitalized terms used herein which are not otherwise
defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in the Deposit
Agreement. The Depositary makes no representation or warranty as to
the validity or worth of the Deposited Securities. The Depositary has
made arrangements for the acceptance of the ADSs into DTC. Each
Beneficial Owner of ADSs held through DTC must rely on the procedures of DTC
and
the DTC Participants to exercise and be entitled to any rights attributable
to
such ADSs.
2. Surrender
of ADSs and Withdrawal and Sale of Deposited Securities. The
Depositary and the Company have been advised that under ROC law, until three
(3)
months after the closing of the Offering, a Holder is not entitled to withdraw
or sell Shares from the ADS Facility, consequently, the Company and the
Depositary agree to prohibit the surrender of ADSs and the sale or Delivery
of
any Shares deposited in connection with the Offering until the expiration of
such three-month period. A Holder wishing to
withdraw Shares from the ADS
Facility shall be required under ROC law to appoint an eligible agent in the
Republic of China to open a securities trading account with a local brokerage
firm after receiving an approval from the TSE and a bank account (the securities
trading account and the bank account, collectively, the “Accounts”), to pay ROC
taxes, remit funds, exercise stockholders' rights and perform such other
functions as may be designated by such withdrawing Holder. In
addition, such withdrawing Holder is also required to appoint a custodian bank
to hold the securities in safekeeping, make confirmations and settle trades
and
report all relevant information. Without making such appointment and
until approval from the TSE is obtained, the withdrawing Holder would be unable
to receive, hold, or subsequently sell the Deposited Securities withdrawn from
the ADS Facilities on the TSE or otherwise.
(a) Sale
of
Deposited Securities. Upon surrender of Receipts at the Principal
Office and upon payment of any fees, reasonable expenses, taxes or other
governmental charges as provided hereunder, subject to the terms of this Deposit
Agreement, and the transfer restrictions applicable to the Deposited Securities,
if any, Holders may request that the Deposited Securities represented by such
Holders' Receipts be sold on such Holders' behalf. Any Holder
requesting a sale of Deposited Securities may be required by the Depositary
to
deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Depositary a written order requesting
the Depositary to sell, or cause to be sold, such Deposited
Securities. Any such sale of Deposited Securities will be conducted
in accordance with applicable ROC law through a securities company in the ROC
on
the TSE or in such other manner as is or may be permitted under applicable
ROC
law. Any
A-3
such
sale
of Deposited Securities will be at the expense and risk of the Holder requesting
such sale.
Upon
receipt of any proceeds from any such sale, the Depositary shall, subject to
any
restrictions imposed by ROC law and regulations, and as provided hereunder
and
under the Deposit Agreement, convert or cause to be converted any such proceeds
into U.S. dollars and distribute any such proceeds to the Holders entitled
thereto after deduction or payment of any fees, reasonable expenses, taxes
or
governmental charges incurred in connection with such sale, as provided under
the Deposit Agreement. Any such sale may be subject to ROC taxation
on capital gains, if any, and will be subject to a securities transaction tax
in
the ROC.
(b) Withdrawal
of Deposited Securities. The Holder of ADSs shall be entitled to
Delivery (at the Custodian's designated office) of the Deposited Securities
at
the time represented by the ADS(s) upon satisfaction of each of the following
conditions: (i) the Holder (or a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) has
duly Delivered ADSs to the Depositary at its Principal Office (and if
applicable, the Receipts evidencing such ADSs) for the purpose of withdrawal
of
the Deposited Securities represented thereby, (ii) if so required by the
Depositary, the Receipts Delivered to the Depositary for such purpose have
been
properly endorsed in blank or are accompanied by proper instruments of transfer
in blank (including signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities
industry practice), (iii) if so required by the Depositary, the Holder of the
ADSs has executed and delivered to the Depositary a written order directing
the
Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities being withdrawn to be Delivered
to
or upon the written order of the person(s) designated in such order, (iv) the
Holder has delivered to the Depositary the certification contemplated in
Exhibit C to the Deposit Agreement, duly completed by or on behalf of the
Beneficial Owner(s) of the ADSs surrendered for withdrawal (unless the
Depositary is otherwise instructed by the Company), and (v) all applicable
fees
and charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all
applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9
of,
and Exhibit B to, the Deposit Agreement) have been paid, subject, however,
in each case, to the terms and conditions of the Receipts evidencing the
surrendered ADSs, of the Deposit Agreement, of the Company's Articles of
Incorporation and of any applicable laws and the regulations and rules of the
Republic of China and the rules of the TSE and the Taiwan Securities Central
Depository, and to any provisions of or governing the Deposited Securities,
in
each case as in effect at the time thereof.
Upon
satisfaction of each of the conditions specified above, the Depositary (i)
shall
cancel the ADSs Delivered to it (and, if applicable, the Receipts evidencing
the
ADSs so Delivered), (ii) shall direct the Registrar to record the
cancellation of the ADSs so Delivered on the books maintained for such purpose,
and (iii) shall direct the Custodian to Deliver (without unreasonable delay)
at
the Custodian's designated office the Deposited Securities represented by the
ADSs so canceled together with any certificate or other document of title for
the Deposited Securities, or evidence of the electronic transfer thereof (if
available), as the case may be, to or upon the written order of the person(s)
designated in the order delivered to the Depositary for such purpose,
subject however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the
Deposit Agreement, of the Receipts evidencing the ADSs so canceled, of the
Articles of Incorporation of the Company, of applicable laws and the rules
and
regulations of the Republic of China and the rules of the TSE and the Taiwan
Securities Central Depository, and to the terms and conditions of or governing
the Deposited Securities, in each case as in effect at the time
thereof.
A-4
The
Depositary shall not accept for surrender ADSs representing less than one
Eligible Security. In the case of the Delivery to it of ADSs
representing a number other than a whole number of Eligible Securities, the
Depositary shall cause ownership of the appropriate whole number of Eligible
Securities to be Delivered in accordance with the terms hereof, and shall,
at
the discretion of the Depositary, either (i) return to the person surrendering
such ADSs the number of ADSs representing any remaining fractional Eligible
Security, or (ii) sell or cause to be sold the fractional Eligible Security
represented by the ADS(s) so surrendered and remit the proceeds of such sale
(net of (a) applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the
Depositary and (b) taxes withheld) to the person surrendering the
ADSs. In addition, trading restrictions on the TSE may result in the
price per Eligible Security or on any lot of any type of Eligible Security
other
than an integral multiple of 1,000 Eligible Securities being lower than the
price of Eligible Securities in lots of integral multiples of 1,000 Eligible
Securities.
Notwithstanding
anything else contained in any Receipt or the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary
may make delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary of (i) any cash
dividends or cash distributions, or (ii) any proceeds from the sale of any
distributions of securities or rights, which are at the time held by the
Depositary in respect of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs
surrendered for cancellation and withdrawal. At the request, risk and
expense of any Holder so surrendering ADSs, and for the account of such Holder,
the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward (to the extent permitted
by
law) any cash or other property (other than securities) held by the Custodian
in
respect of the Deposited Securities represented by such ADSs to the Depositary
for delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary. Such
direction shall be given by letter or, at the request, risk and expense of
such
Holder, by cable, telex or facsimile transmission.
3. Transfer,
Combination and Split-Up of Receipts. The Registrar shall
register the transfer of this Receipt (and of the ADSs represented thereby)
on
the books maintained for such purpose and the Depositary shall cancel this
Receipt and execute new Receipts evidencing the same aggregate number and type
of ADSs as those evidenced by this Receipt when canceled, shall cause the
Registrar to countersign such new Receipts and shall Deliver such new Receipts
to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto, if each of the following
conditions has been satisfied: (i) this Receipt has been duly
Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) to
the
Depositary at its Principal Office for the purpose of effecting a transfer
thereof, (ii) this Receipt has been properly endorsed or is accompanied by
proper instruments of transfer (including signature guarantees in accordance
with standard securities industry practice), (iii) this Receipt has been duly
stamped (if required by the laws of the State of New York or of the United
States), and (iv) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred
by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are
set
forth in Section 5.9 of, and Exhibit B to, the Deposit Agreement) have been
paid, subject, however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of
this Receipt, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each case
as in
effect at the time thereof.
The
Registrar shall register the split-up or combination of this Receipt (and of
the
ADSs represented hereby) on the books maintained for such purpose and the
Depositary shall cancel this Receipt and execute new Receipts for the number
of
ADSs requested, but in the aggregate not exceeding the number of the same type
of ADSs evidenced by this Receipt (when canceled), shall cause the Registrar
to
countersign such new Receipts and shall Deliver such new
A-5
Receipts
to or upon the order of the Holder thereof, if each of the following conditions
has been satisfied: (i) this Receipt has been duly Delivered by
the Holder (or by a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary
at
its Principal Office for the purpose of effecting a split-up or combination
hereof, and (ii) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred
by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and government charges (as are
set
forth in Section 5.9 of, and Exhibit B to, the Deposit Agreement) have been
paid, subject, however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of
this Receipt, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each case
as in
effect at the time thereof.
4. Pre-Conditions
to Registration, Transfer, Etc. As a condition precedent to the
execution and delivery, registration of transfer, split-up, combination or
surrender of any Receipt, the delivery of any distribution thereon, or the
withdrawal of any Deposited Securities, the Depositary or the Custodian may
require (i) payment from the depositor of Eligible Securities or presenter
of
ADSs or of a Receipt of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other
governmental charge and any stock transfer or registration fee with respect
thereto (including any such tax or charge and fee with respect to Eligible
Securities being deposited or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees
and
charges of the Depositary as provided in the Deposit Agreement and in this
Receipt, (ii) the production of proof satisfactory to it as to the identity
and
genuineness of any signature or any other matters contemplated in the Deposit
Agreement, and (iii) compliance with (A) any laws or governmental regulations
relating to the execution and delivery of Receipts or ADSs or to the deposit
of
Eligible Securities or to the withdrawal of Deposited Securities and (B) such
reasonable regulations as the Depositary and the Company may establish
consistent with the provisions of this Receipt, the Deposit Agreement and
applicable law.
The
issuance of ADSs against deposits of Eligible Securities generally or against
deposits of particular Eligible Securities may be suspended, or the deposit
of
particular Eligible Securities may be refused, or the registration of transfer
of Receipts in particular instances may be refused, or the registration of
transfer of Receipts generally may be suspended, during any period when the
transfer books of the Company, the Depositary, a Registrar or the Eligible
Securities Registrar are closed or if any such action is deemed necessary or
advisable by the Depositary or the Company, in good faith, at any time or from
time to time because of any requirement of law, any government or governmental
body or commission or any securities exchange upon which the ADSs or Eligible
Securities are listed, or under any provision of the Deposit Agreement or this
Receipt, or under any provision of, or governing, the Deposited Securities,
or
because of a meeting of shareholders of the Company or for any other reason,
subject in all cases to Paragraph (23) hereof. In addition, the
Depositary and the Custodian shall refuse to accept Shares for deposit (i)
whenever notified, as provided in the Deposit Agreement that the Company has
restricted transfer of such Shares to comply with delivery or transfer
requirements and/or ownership restrictions referred to in the Deposit Agreement
or under applicable law, or (ii) in the case of a deposit of Shares requested
under the terms of Section 2.3(iv) of the Deposit Agreement, if such deposit
is
not permitted under any restriction notified by the Company to the Depositary
from time to time, which restrictions may specify black-out periods during
which
deposits may not be made, minimum or maximum numbers of Shares and frequencies
of deposit.
A-6
Notwithstanding
any provision of the Deposit Agreement or this Receipt to the contrary, Holders
are entitled to surrender outstanding ADSs to withdraw the Deposited Securities
at any time subject only to (i) temporary delays caused by closing the transfer
books of the Depositary or the Company, or the deposit of Eligible Securities
in
connection with voting at a shareholders' meeting or the payment of dividends,
(ii) the payment of fees, taxes and similar charges, (iii) compliance with
any
U.S. or foreign laws or governmental regulations relating to the Receipts or
to
the withdrawal of the Deposited Securities, and (iv) other circumstances
specifically contemplated by Section I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to
Form
F-6 (as such General Instructions may be amended from time to
time).
5. Compliance
With Information Requests. Notwithstanding any other provision of
the Deposit Agreement or this Receipt, each Holder and Beneficial Owner of
the
ADSs represented hereby agrees to comply with requests from the Company pursuant
to applicable law, the rules and requirements of the TSE, and any other stock
exchange on which the Eligible Securities or ADSs are, or will be, registered,
traded or listed, or the Articles of Incorporation of the Company, which are
made to provide information, inter alia, as to the capacity
in which such Holder or Beneficial Owner owns ADSs (and Eligible Securities
and
Deposited Securities, as the case may be) and regarding the identity of any
other person(s) interested in such ADSs and the nature of such interest and
various other matters, whether or not they are Holders and/or Beneficial Owners
at the time of such request.
6. Ownership
Restrictions. Notwithstanding any provision of this Receipt or of
the Deposit Agreement, the Company may restrict transfers of the Shares,
Eligible Securities or securities convertible into Shares where the Company
informs the Depositary that such transfer might result in ownership of Shares
exceeding limits imposed by applicable law, the SFC, the TSE or Articles of
Incorporation of the Company. The Company may also restrict, in such
manner as it deems appropriate, transfers of ADSs where such transfer may result
in the total number of Shares, Deposited Securities or securities convertible
into Shares represented by the ADSs owned by a single Holder or Beneficial
Owner
to exceed any such limits. The Company may, in its sole discretion,
but subject to applicable law, instruct the Depositary to take action with
respect to the ownership interest of any Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess
of
the limits set forth in the preceding sentence, including but not limited to,
the imposition of restrictions on the transfer of ADSs, the removal or
limitation of voting rights or the mandatory sale or disposition on behalf
of a
Holder or Beneficial Owner of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs
held by such Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess of such limitations, if and
to
the extent such disposition is permitted by applicable law and the Articles
of
Incorporation of the Company.
7. Liability
of Holder for Taxes and Other Charges. If any tax or other
governmental charge shall become payable with respect to any Receipt or any
Deposited Securities or ADSs, such tax or other governmental charge shall be
payable by the Holders and Beneficial Owners to the Depositary. The
Company, the Custodian and/or Depositary may withhold or deduct from any
distributions made in respect of Deposited Securities and may sell for the
account of a Holder and/or Beneficial Owner any or all of the Deposited
Securities and apply such distributions and sale proceeds in payment of such
taxes or governmental charges, (including applicable interest and penalties),
the Holder and the Beneficial Owner hereof remaining liable for any
deficiency. The Custodian may refuse the deposit of Eligible
Securities
A-7
and
the
Depositary may refuse to issue ADSs, to deliver ADRs, register the transfer,
split-up or combination of ADRs and (subject to Paragraph (23) hereof) the
withdrawal of Deposited Securities until payment in full of such tax, charge,
penalty or interest is received. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner
may be asked to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian, and any
of
their respective agents, officers, employees and Affiliates for, and hold each
of them harmless from, any claims with respect to taxes (including applicable
interest and penalties thereon) arising from any inaccuracy in the information
provided by such Holder and/or Beneficial Owner in connection with obtaining
any
tax benefit for such Holder and/or Beneficial Owner.
8. Representations
and Warranties of Depositors. Each person depositing Shares
under the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant
that (i) such Shares and the certificates therefor are duly authorized,
validly issued, fully paid, non-assessable and legally obtained by such person,
(ii) all preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such Shares
have been validly waived or exercised, (iii) the person making such deposit
is
duly authorized to make such deposit, (iv) the Shares presented for deposit
are
free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage
or
adverse claim and are not, and the ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not
be,
Restricted Securities except (as contemplated in Section 2.14 of the Deposit
Agreement), and (v) the Shares presented for deposit have not been stripped
of any rights or entitlements. Such representations and warranties
shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of Shares, the issuance and
cancellation of ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such
ADSs. Each person depositing Certificates of Payment under the
Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that (i)
such
Certificates of Payment are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid,
non-assessable and legally obtained by such person, (ii) all preemptive (and
similar) rights, if any, with respect to such Certificates of Payment have
been
validly waived or exercised, (iii) the person making such deposit is duly
authorized to make such deposit, (iv) the Certificates of Payment presented
for
deposit are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge,
mortgage or adverse claim, and are not, and the Temporary COP ADSs issuable
upon
such deposit will not be, Restricted Securities (except as contemplated in
Section 2.14 of the Deposit Agreement) and (v) the Certificates of Payment
presented for deposit have not been stripped of any rights or
entitlements. Such representations and warranties shall survive the
deposit of Certificates of Payment, the issuance and cancellation of Temporary
COP ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such Temporary COP
ADSs. Each person depositing Entitlement Certificates under the
Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that (i)
such
Entitlement Certificates are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and
legally obtained by such person, (ii) all preemptive (and similar) rights,
if
any, with respect to such Entitlement Certificates have been validly waived
or
exercised, (iii) the person making such deposit is duly authorized to do so,
(iv) the Entitlement Certificates presented for deposit are free and clear
of
any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim,
and
are not, and the Temporary EC ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not be,
Restricted Securities and (v) the Entitlement Certificates presented for deposit
have not been stripped of any rights or entitlements. Such
representations and warranties shall survive the deposit of Entitlement
Certificates, the issuance and cancellation of Temporary EC ADSs in respect
thereof and the transfer of such Temporary EC ADSs.
If
any
such representations or warranties are false in any way, the Company and
Depositary shall be authorized, at the cost and expense of the person
depositing, Shares,
A-8
Certificates
of Payment or Entitlement Certificates, to take any and all actions necessary
to
correct the consequences thereof.
9. Filing
Proofs, Certificates and Other Information. Any person presenting
Eligible Securities for deposit, any Holder and any Beneficial Owner may be
required, and every Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees, from time to time to
provide to the Depositary and the Custodian such proof of citizenship or
residence, taxpayer status, payment of all applicable taxes or other
governmental charges, exchange control approvals and any other applicable
regulatory approval, legal or beneficial ownership of ADSs and Deposited
Securities, compliance with applicable laws and the terms of the Deposit
Agreement or this receipt evidencing the ADS(s) and the provisions of, or
governing, the Deposited Securities, to execute such certifications and to
make
such representations and warranties, and to provide such other information
and
documentation (or, in the case of Eligible Securities in registered form
presented for deposit, such information relating to the registration on the
books of the Company or of the Eligible Securities Registrar) as the Depositary
or the Custodian may deem reasonably necessary or proper or as the Company
may
reasonably require by written request to the Depositary consistent with its
obligations under the Deposit Agreement, this Receipt and applicable laws and
regulations. The Depositary and the Registrar, as applicable, may
withhold the execution or delivery or registration of transfer of any Receipt
or
the distribution or sale of any dividend or distribution of rights or of the
proceeds thereof or, to the extent not limited by Paragraph (23) hereof, the
delivery of any Deposited Securities until such proof or other information
is
filed or such certificates are executed, or such representations are made,
or
such information and documentation are provided, in each case to the
Depositary's, the Registrar's and the Company's satisfaction.
10. Charges
of Depositary. The Depositary shall charge the following fees for
the services performed under the terms of the Deposit Agreement:
(i) to
any
person to whom ADSs are issued upon the deposit of Eligible Securities, a fee
not in excess of U.S. $ 5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) so issued under
the terms of the Deposit Agreement (excluding issuances pursuant to paragraphs
(iii)(b) and (v) below);
(ii) to
any
person surrendering ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of Deposited
Securities, a fee not in excess of U.S. $ 5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction
thereof) so surrendered;
(iii) No
fee
shall be payable upon distribution of (a) cash dividends or (b) ADSs pursuant
to
stock dividends (or other free distributions of stock) so long as the charging
of such fee is prohibited by the exchange upon which the ADSs are
listed. If charging of such fees is not prohibited, the fees
specified in (i) above shall be payable in respect of ADS distributions pursuant
to stock dividends (or other free distributions of stock) and the fees specified
in (iv) below shall be payable in respect of distributions of cash;
A-9
(iv) to
any
Holder of ADSs, a fee not in excess of U.S. $ 2.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction
thereof) held for the distribution of cash proceeds (i.e., upon the
sale of rights and other entitlements); and
(v) to
any
Holder of ADSs, a fee not in the excess of U.S. $ 5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction
thereof) issued upon the exercise of rights to purchase additional
ADSs.
In
addition, Holders, Beneficial Owners, persons depositing Eligible Securities
for
deposit and persons surrendering ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of
Deposited Securities will be required to pay the following charges:
(b) taxes
(including applicable interest and penalties) and other governmental
charges;
(c) such
registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the registration
of
Deposited Securities on the share register and applicable to transfers of
Deposited Securities to or from the name of the Custodian, the Depositary or
any
nominees upon the making of deposits and withdrawals, respectively;
(d) such
cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery expenses as are expressly
provided in the Deposit Agreement to be at the expense of the person depositing
or withdrawing Deposited Securities or Holders and Beneficial Owners of
ADSs;
(e) the
expenses and charges incurred by the Depositary in the conversion of foreign
currency;
(f) such
fees
and expenses as are incurred by the Depositary in connection with compliance
with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable
to Eligible Securities, Deposited Securities, ADSs and ADRs; and
(g) the
fees
and expenses incurred by the Depositary in connection with the delivery of
Deposited Securities.
Any
other
charges and expenses of the Depositary under the Deposit Agreement will be
paid
by the Company upon agreement between the Depositary and the
Company. All fees and charges may, at any time and from time to time,
be changed by agreement between the Depositary and Company but, in the case
of
fees and charges payable by Holders or Beneficial Owners, only in the manner
contemplated by Paragraph (21) of this Receipt. The Depositary will
provide, without charge, a copy of its latest fee schedule to anyone upon
request. The charges and expenses of the Custodian are for the sole
account of the Depositary.
11. Title
to Receipts. It is a condition of this Receipt, and every
successive Holder of this Receipt by accepting or holding the same consents
and
agrees, that title to this Receipt (and to each ADS evidenced hereby) shall
be
transferable upon the same terms as a certificated security under the laws
of
the State of New York, provided that the Receipt has been properly endorsed
or
is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer. Notwithstanding any
notice to the contrary, the Depositary and the Company may deem and treat the
Holder of this
A-10
Receipt
(that is, the person in whose name this Receipt is registered on the books
of
the Depositary) as the absolute owner thereof for all
purposes. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall have any
obligation nor be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or this
Receipt to any holder of this Receipt or any Beneficial Owner unless such holder
is the Holder of this Receipt registered on the books of the Depositary or,
in
the case of a Beneficial Owner, such Beneficial Owner or the Beneficial Owner's
representative is the Holder registered on the books of the
Depositary.
12. Validity
of Receipt. This Receipt (and the ADSs represented hereby) shall
not be entitled to any benefits under the Deposit Agreement or be valid or
enforceable for any purpose against the Depositary or the Company unless this
Receipt has been (i) dated, (ii) signed by the manual or facsimile signature
of
a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary, (iii) countersigned by the manual
or facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Registrar, and
(iv)
registered in the books maintained by the Registrar for the registration of
issuances and transfers of Receipts. Receipts bearing the facsimile
signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar,
who
at the time of signature was a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary
or
the Registrar, as the case may be, shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding
the fact that such signatory has ceased to be so authorized prior to the
delivery of such Receipt by the Depositary.
13. Available
Information; Reports; Inspection of Transfer Books. The Company
is subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and
accordingly files certain information with the Commission. These
reports and documents can be inspected and copied at the public reference
facilities maintained by the Commission located at Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx, 000 X
Xxxxxx, X.X., Xxxxxxxxxx X.X. 00000. The Depositary shall make
available for inspection by Holders at its Principal Office any reports and
communications, including any proxy soliciting materials, received from the
Company which are both (a) received by the Depositary, the Custodian, or the
nominee of either of them, as the holder of the Deposited Securities and (b)
made generally available to the holders of such Deposited Securities by the
Company.
The
Registrar shall keep books for the registration of issuances and transfers
of
Receipts which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the
Company and by the Holders of such Receipts, provided that such inspection
shall
not be, to the Registrar's knowledge, for the purpose of communicating with
Holders of such Receipts in the interest of a business or object other than
the
business of the Company or other than a matter related to the Deposit Agreement
or the Receipts.
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The
Registrar may close the transfer books with respect to the Receipts, at any
time
or from time to time, when deemed necessary or advisable by it in good faith
in
connection with the performance of its duties hereunder, or at the reasonable
written request of the Company subject, in all cases, to Paragraph (23)
hereof.
Dated:
|
CITIBANK,
N.A.,
|
|
as Depositary
|
|
By:_________________________
|
|
Authorized Signatory
|
CITIBANK,
N.A.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
By: ______________________________
Authorized Signatory
Transfer Agent and Registrar
By: ______________________________
Authorized Signatory
The
address of the Principal Office of the Depositary is 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx,
Xxx
Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, X.X.X.
A-12
[FORM
OF REVERSE OF RECEIPT]
SUMMARY
OF
CERTAIN ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
OF
THE
DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
14. Dividends
and Distributions in Cash, Eligible Securities, etc. Subject
always to the laws and regulations of the Republic of China, whenever the
Depositary receives directly confirmation from the Custodian of receipt of
any
cash dividend or other cash distribution on any Deposited Securities, or
receives proceeds from the sale of any Deposited Securities or any entitlements
held in respect of Deposited Securities under the terms of the Deposit
Agreement, the Depositary will (i) promptly convert or cause to be
converted such cash dividend, distribution or proceeds into Dollars (upon the
terms of the Deposit Agreement), (ii) if applicable, establish the ADS
Record Date upon the terms described in Paragraph (15) hereof and in Section
4.9
of the Deposit Agreement, and (iii) distribute promptly the amount thus received
(net of (a) applicable fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred
by,
the Depositary and (b) taxes withheld) to the Holders entitled thereto as of
the
ADS Record Date in proportion to the number of ADS held as of the ADS Record
Date. The Depositary shall distribute only such amount, however, as
can be distributed without attributing to any Holder a fraction of one cent,
and
any balance not so distributed shall be held by the Depositary (without
liability for interest thereon) and shall be added to and become part of the
next sum received by the Depositary for distribution to Holders of ADSs then
outstanding at the time of the next distribution. If the Company, the
Custodian or the Depositary is required to withhold and does withhold from
any
cash dividend or other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities
an amount on account of taxes, duties or other governmental charges, the amount
distributed to Holders on the ADSs representing such Deposited Securities shall
be reduced accordingly. Such withheld amounts shall be forwarded by
the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary to the relevant governmental
authority.
If
any
distribution upon any Deposited Securities consists of a dividend in, or free
distribution of, Eligible Securities, the Company shall cause such Eligible
Securities to be deposited with the Custodian and registered, as the case may
be, in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or their respective
nominees. Upon receipt of confirmation of such deposit from the
Custodian, the Depositary shall, subject to and in accordance with the Deposit
Agreement and the laws and regulations of the Republic of China, establish
the
ADS Record Date and either (i) the Depositary shall distribute to the Holders
as
of the ADS Record Date in proportion to the number of ADSs held as of the ADS
Record Date, additional ADSs (of the applicable series), which represent in
aggregate the number of Eligible Securities received as such dividend, or free
distribution, subject, however, in each case, to the terms of the
Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation, the limitations set forth
on
the face of this Receipt and in Article II of the Deposit Agreement and net
of
(a) the applicable fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred by,
the
Depositary and (b) taxes), or (ii) if additional ADSs are not so distributed,
each ADS issued and outstanding after the ADS Record Date shall, to the extent
permissible by law, thenceforth also represent rights and interest in the
additional integral number of Shares distributed upon the Deposited Securities
represented thereby (subject, however, in each case, to the laws and
regulations of the Republic of China and net of (a) the applicable fees and
charges of, and the reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b)
taxes). In lieu of delivering
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fractional
ADSs, the Depositary shall sell the number of Eligible Securities or ADSs,
as
the case may be, represented by the aggregate of such fractions and distribute
the net proceeds upon the terms set forth in the Deposit Agreement.
In
the
event that the Depositary determines that any distribution in property
(including Eligible Securities) is subject to any tax or other governmental
charges which the Depositary is obligated to withhold, or, if the Company in
the
fulfillment of its obligations under the Deposit Agreement, has furnished an
opinion of U.S. counsel determining that Eligible Securities must be registered
under the Securities Act or other laws in order to be distributed to Holders
(and no such registration statement has been declared effective), the Depositary
may dispose of all or a portion of such property (including Eligible Securities
and rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including
by public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable
and
the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale (after
deduction of (a) taxes and (b) fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses
incurred by, the Depositary) to Holders entitled thereto upon the terms of
the
Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall hold and/or distribute any
unsold balance of such property in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit
Agreement.
Upon
timely receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes an elective
distribution to be made available to Holders upon the terms described in the
Deposit Agreement, the Company and the Depositary shall determine whether such
distribution is lawful and reasonably practicable. If so, the
Depositary shall, subject to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement,
establish an ADS record date according to Paragraph (15) and establish
procedures to enable the Holder hereof to elect to receive the proposed
distribution in cash or in additional ADSs. If a Holder elects to
receive the distribution in cash, the dividend shall be distributed as in the
case of a distribution in cash. If the Holder hereof elects to
receive the distribution in additional ADSs, the distribution shall be
distributed as in the case of a distribution in Eligible
Securities. If such elective distribution is not lawful or not
reasonably practicable, the Depositary shall, to the extent permitted by law,
distribute to Holders, on the basis of the same determination as is made in
the
Republic of China in respect of the Deposited Securities for which no election
is made, either (x) cash or (y) additional ADSs representing such
additional Eligible Securities, in each case, upon the terms described in the
Deposit Agreement. Nothing herein or in the Deposit Agreement shall
obligate the Depositary to make available to the Holder hereof a method to
receive the elective distribution in Eligible Securities (rather than
ADSs). There can be no assurance that the Holder hereof will be given
the opportunity to receive elective distributions on the same terms and
conditions as the holders of Deposited Securities.
Upon
timely receipt by the Depositary of a notice indicating that the Company wishes
rights to subscribe for additional Eligible Securities to be made available
to
Holders of ADSs, the Depositary upon consultation with the Company, shall
determine, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make such rights
available to the Holders. If and whenever the Company shall announce
its intention to make any offer or invitation to the holders of Eligible
Securities to subscribe for or to acquire Eligible Securities or other assets
by
way of rights, the Depositary shall as soon as practicable thereafter give
notice of the same to the Holders, including if applicable, the last date for
acceptance thereof and the manner by which and the time during which Holders
may
instruct the Depositary to exercise such rights. The Depositary shall
A-14
make
such
rights available to any Holders only if (i) the Company shall have timely
requested the Depositary to make such rights available to Holders, (ii) the
Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation contemplated in the
Deposit Agreement, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such
distribution of rights is reasonably practicable. In the event any of
the conditions set forth above are not satisfied or if the Company requests
the
Depositary that the rights not be made available to Holders of ADSs, the
Depositary shall proceed with the sale of rights as contemplated
below. In the event that the conditions set forth above are
satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date (upon the terms
described in the Deposit Agreement) and establish procedures (x) to
distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs (by means of warrants or
otherwise), (y) to enable the Holders to exercise the rights (upon payment
of the subscription price and of the applicable (a) fees and charges of, and
expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), and (z) to deliver
ADSs upon the valid exercise of such rights. Nothing herein or in the
Deposit Agreement shall obligate the Depositary to make available to the Holders
a method to exercise rights to subscribe for Eligible Securities (rather than
ADSs). If (i) the Company does not timely request the Depositary to
make the rights available to Holders or if the Company requests that the rights
not be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary fails to receive
satisfactory documentation required by the Deposit Agreement or determines
it is
not lawful or not reasonably practicable to make the rights available to
Holders, or (iii) any rights made available are not exercised and appear to
be
about to lapse, the Depositary shall determine whether it is lawful and
reasonably practicable to sell such rights, in a riskless principal capacity,
at
such place and upon such terms (including public and private sale) as it may
deem reasonably practicable. The Depositary shall, upon such sale,
convert and distribute proceeds of such sale (net of applicable fees and charges
of, and reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and taxes) upon the
terms hereof and of the Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary is
unable to make any rights available to Holders or to arrange for the sale of
the
rights upon the terms described above, the Depositary shall allow such rights
to
lapse. The Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to
determine that it may be lawful or practicable to make such rights available
to
Holders in general or any Holders in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange
exposure or loss incurred in connection with such sale, or exercise, or (iii)
the content of any materials forwarded to the ADR Holders on behalf of the
Company in connection with the rights distribution.
Notwithstanding
anything herein or in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, if registration
(under the Securities Act or any other applicable law) of the rights or the
securities to which any rights relate may be required in order for the Company
to offer such rights or such securities to Holders and to sell the securities
represented by such rights, the Depositary will not distribute such rights
to
the Holders (i) unless and until a registration statement under the
Securities Act (or other applicable law) covering such offering is in effect
or
(ii) unless the Company furnishes the Depositary opinion(s) of counsel for
the Company in the United States and counsel to the Company in any other
applicable country in which rights would be distributed in each case
satisfactory to the Depositary, to the effect that the offering and sale of
such
securities to Holders and Beneficial Owners are exempt from, or do not require
registration under, the provisions of the Securities Act or other applicable
securities laws. In the event that the Company, the Depositary or the
Custodian shall be required to withhold and does withhold from any distribution
of property (including rights) an amount on account of taxes or other
governmental charges, the amount distributed to the Holders of ADSs representing
such Deposited Securities shall be reduced accordingly. In the event
that the Depositary determines
A-15
that
any
distribution in property (including Eligible Securities and rights to subscribe
therefor) is subject to any tax or other governmental charges which the
Depositary is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a
portion of such property (including Eligible Securities and rights to subscribe
therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by public or private
sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay any such taxes
or
charges.
There
can
be no assurance that Holders generally, or any Holder in particular, will be
given the opportunity to exercise rights on the same terms and conditions as
the
holders of Deposited Securities or be able to exercise such
rights. Nothing herein or in the Deposit Agreement shall obligate the
Company to file any registration statement in respect of any rights or Eligible
Securities or other securities to be acquired upon the exercise of such
rights.
Upon
receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes property other than
cash,
Eligible Securities or rights to purchase additional Eligible Securities, to
be
made to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall determine whether such
distribution to Holders is lawful and reasonably practicable. The
Depositary shall not make such distribution unless (i) the Company shall have
requested the Depositary to make such distribution to Holders, (ii) the
Depositary shall have received the documentation contemplated in the Deposit
Agreement, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution
is reasonably practicable. Upon satisfaction of such conditions, the
Depositary shall distribute the property so received to the Holders of record,
as of the ADS Record Date, in proportion to the respective number of ADSs held
by them and in such manner as the Depositary may deem practicable for
accomplishing such distribution (i) upon receipt of payment or net of the
applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and
(ii) net of any taxes withheld. The Depositary may dispose of all or
a portion of the property so distributed and deposited, in such amounts and
in
such manner (including public or private sale) as the Depositary may deem
practicable or necessary to satisfy any taxes (including applicable interest
and
penalties) or other governmental charges applicable to the
distribution.
If
the
conditions above are not satisfied, the Depositary shall sell or cause such
property to be sold in a public or private sale, at such place or places and
upon such terms as it may deem practicable and shall (i) cause the proceeds
of
such sale, if any, to be converted into Dollars and (ii) distribute the proceeds
of such conversion received by the Depositary (net of applicable (a) fees and
charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) to the
Holders as of the ADS Record Date upon the terms hereof and of the Deposit
Agreement. If the Depositary is unable to sell such property, the
Depositary may dispose of such property in any way it deems reasonably
practicable under the circumstances.
15. Fixing
of ADS Record Date. Whenever the Depositary shall receive notice
of the fixing of a record date by the Company for the determination of holders
of Deposited Securities entitled to receive any distribution (whether in cash,
Eligible Securities, rights or other distribution), or whenever for any reason
the Depositary causes a change in the number of Deposited Securities that are
represented by each ADS, or whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of
any
meeting of, or solicitation of consents or proxies of, holders of Deposited
Securities, or whenever the Depositary shall find it necessary or convenient
in
connection with the giving of any notice, solicitation of any consent or any
other matter, the Depositary shall fix a record date (the “ADS Record Date”) for
the determination of the Holders
A-16
of
Receipts who shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give
instructions for the exercise of voting rights at any such meeting, to give
or
withhold such consent, to receive such notice or solicitation or to otherwise
take action, or to exercise the rights of Holders with respect to such changed
number of Deposited Securities represented by each ADS. The
Depositary shall make reasonable efforts to establish the ADS Record Date as
closely as possible to the applicable record date for the Deposited Securities
(if any) set by the Company in the Republic of China. Subject to
applicable law and the terms and conditions of this Receipt and the Deposit
Agreement, only the Holders of Receipts at the close of business in New York
on
such ADS Record Date shall be entitled to receive such distributions, to give
such instructions, to receive such notice or solicitation, or otherwise take
action.
16. Voting
of Deposited Securities. (a) Voting by
Shareholders. The following is a summary of certain rights of
holders of Shares, interests in Certificate(s) of Payment and Entitlement
Certificate(s), if any, to vote at shareholders' meetings under ROC Company
Law
and the Articles of Incorporation of the Company, in each case, as in effect
on
the date hereof: (i) a holder of Shares (including holders of
interests in any Certificate of Payment evidencing the irrevocable right to
receive Shares) is entitled to one vote for each Share held, (ii) the
election of directors and supervisors takes place by means of cumulative voting,
and (iii) a shareholder must, as to all matters subject to a vote of
shareholders (other than the election of directors and supervisors), exercise
the voting rights for all Shares held by such shareholder in the same manner
(e.g., a holder of 1,000 Shares cannot split his/her votes but must
vote all 1,000 Shares in the same manner except in the event of cumulative
voting for an election of directors and supervisors). Pursuant to ROC
law, the voting rights attaching to the Deposited Securities must be exercised
by, or on behalf of, the Depositary's nominee, as representative of the Holders
and Beneficial Owners, collectively in the same manner, except in the case
of an
election of directors and supervisors, which currently should be on a cumulative
basis. Deposited Securities which have been withdrawn from the
applicable ADS Facility and timely transferred on the Company's register of
shareholders to a person other than the Depositary may be voted by the
Registered Holder(s) thereof directly, subject, in each case, to the limitations
of ROC law and the Articles of Incorporation of the Company. Holders
may not receive sufficient advance notice of shareholders' meetings to enable
them to timely withdraw the Deposited Securities and vote at such meetings
and
may not be able to re-deposit the withdrawn securities under the terms of the
Deposit Agreement.
(b) Voting
by ADS Holders. Holders of ADSs have no individual voting rights
with respect to the Deposited Securities represented by their
ADSs. Each Holder shall, by acceptance of ADSs or acquisition of any
beneficial interest therein, have authorized and directed the Depositary's
nominee, without liability, to appoint the Chairman of the Board of Directors
of
the Company (or the Chairman's designate) (the “Voting Representative”), as
representative of the Depositary's nominee, who is registered in the ROC as
representative of the Holders and Beneficial Owners in respect of the Deposited
Securities (the “Registered Holder”), to vote the Shares or Deposited Securities
in accordance with the terms hereof.
The
Company agrees to use its best efforts to timely notify the Depositary of any
proposed shareholders' meeting and to timely provide to the Depositary in New
York, at least twenty-four (24) calendar days before any ordinary shareholders'
meeting or at least fourteen (14) calendar days before any extraordinary
shareholders' meeting, a sufficient number of copies
A-17
reasonably
requested by the Depositary of an English language translation of the Company's
notice of shareholders' meeting and the agenda of the materials to be voted
on
(in the form the Company generally makes available to holders of Shares in
the
ROC, including, without limitation, a list of candidates proposed by the Company
for an election of directors or supervisors) (such materials collectively,
the
“Shareholder Notice”). As soon as practicable after receipt by the
Depositary of the requisite number of Shareholder Notices, the Depositary shall
establish the ADS Record Date (upon the terms of Paragraph (15) hereof and
Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement) and shall, at the Company's expense and
provided that no U.S. legal prohibitions exist, deliver to Holders as of the
applicable ADS Record Date, (i) the Shareholder Notice, (ii) a
depositary notice setting forth the manner in which Holders of ADSs may instruct
the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities represented by their ADSs
to be
voted under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, including a description of
the
Management Instruction (as defined below), together with a form of voting
instructions and/or other means to provide voting instructions (the depositary
notice and the related materials prepared by the Depositary collectively, the
“Depositary Notice”). The Depositary is under no obligation to mail
the Shareholder Notice and the Depositary Notice to Holders if the Company
has
failed to provide to the Depositary in New York the requisite number of
Shareholder Notices at least twenty-four (24) calendar days prior to the date
of
any ordinary shareholders' meeting or at least fourteen (14) calendar days
before the date of any extraordinary shareholders' meeting. If the
Depositary has not delivered the Shareholder Notice or Depositary Notice to
Holders, it will endeavor to cause all Deposited Securities represented by
ADRs
to be present at the relevant shareholders' meeting insofar as practicable
and
permitted under applicable law but will not cause the Shares or other Deposited
Securities to be voted; provided, however, that the Depositary may
determine, in its sole discretion, to send such Shareholder Notice and
Depositary Notice to Holders and/or cause the Shares or other Deposited
Securities to be voted as it deems appropriate. There can be no
assurance that Holders generally or any Holder in particular will receive
Shareholder Notices and Depositary Notices with sufficient time to enable the
return of voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner.
Notwithstanding
anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall not
have
any obligation to take any action with respect to any meeting, or solicitation
of consents or proxies or instructions, of holders of Shares or other Deposited
Securities if the taking of such action would violate U.S. laws.
(c) Voting
of Deposited Securities Upon ADS Holders' Instructions. If
Holders of ADSs together holding at least 51% of all the ADSs (including
Temporary ADSs) outstanding as of the relevant ADS Record Date shall instruct
the Depositary, prior to the date established for such purpose by the
Depositary, to vote in the same manner in respect of one or more resolutions
to
be proposed at a shareholders' meeting (including resolutions for the election
of directors and/or supervisors), the Depositary shall notify the Voting
Representative as the representative of the Registered Holder to attend such
shareholders' meeting and vote all Deposited Securities evidenced by ADSs then
outstanding as of the ADS Record Date (including Temporary ADSs) in the manner
so instructed by such Holders. If voting instructions are received by
the Depositary on or before the date established by the Depositary for the
receipt of such instructions from any Holder as of the ADS Record Date, which
are signed but without further indication as to voting instructions, the
Depositary shall deem such Holder to have instructed a vote in favor of the
items set forth in such instructions. The Depositary and
A-18
Custodian
shall not have any obligation to monitor, and shall not incur any liability
for,
the actions, or the failure to act, of the Voting Representative (or his/her
designate) as representative of the Registered Holder.
(d) Depositary
Authorization. If, for any reason (other than a failure by the
Company to supply the requisite number of Shareholder Notices to the Depositary
within the requisite time period provided in the Deposit Agreement), the
Depositary has not, prior to the date established for such purpose by the
Depositary, received instructions from Holders together holding at least 51%
of
all ADSs (including Temporary ADSs) outstanding at the relevant ADS Record
Date,
to vote in the same manner in respect of any resolution (including resolutions
for the election of directors and/or supervisors), then, subject to the
following paragraph, the Holders shall be deemed to have authorized and directed
the Depositary's nominee to authorize (the “Depositary Authorization”) the
Voting Representative as the representative of the Registered Holder to attend
and vote at such meeting all the Deposited Securities represented by ADSs then
outstanding (including Temporary ADSs) in his or her discretion. In
such circumstances, the Voting Representative shall be free to exercise the
votes attaching to the Deposited Securities in any manner she/he wishes, which
may not be in the interests of the Holders.
The
Depositary's Authorization, provided in the manner and under the circumstances
described in the preceding paragraph, shall be subject to the receipt by the
Depositary prior to each shareholders' meeting of an opinion of ROC counsel
of
the Company addressed to, and in form and substance
satisfactory to, the Depositary to the effect that under ROC law (i) the
arrangements relating to the Depositary Authorization are permissible, and
(ii) the Depositary will not be deemed to be authorized to exercise any
discretion when causing the voting in accordance with Section 4.10 of the
Deposit Agreement and will not (in the absence of negligence, bad faith or
breach of contract, and subject to general principles of agency) be subject
to
any liability under ROC law for losses arising from the exercise of the voting
arrangements set out in Section 4.10 of the Deposit Agreement on the grounds
that voting in accordance with Section 4.10 of the Deposit Agreement is in
violation of ROC law. In the event the Depositary does not receive
such opinion, the Depositary will not grant the Depositary
Authorization, but will cause the Deposited Securities to be present at the
shareholders' meeting to the extent practicable and permitted by applicable
law
and will not cause the Deposited Securities to be voted.
The
Depositary shall not, and the Depositary shall ensure that the Custodian and
its
nominees do not, vote or attempt to exercise the right to vote that attaches
to
the Shares or other Deposited Securities, other than in accordance with
instructions given in accordance with Section 4.10 of the Deposit
Agreement. The terms of Section 4.10 of the Deposit Agreement may be
amended from time to time in accordance with the terms of the Deposit
Agreement. By continuing to hold ADSs after the effective time of
such amendment, all Holders and Beneficial Owners shall be deemed to have agreed
to the terms of the Deposit Agreement as so amended.
17. Changes
Affecting Deposited Securities. Upon any change in nominal or par
value, split-up, cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification
of
Deposited Securities, or upon any recapitalization, reorganization, merger
or
consolidation or sale of assets affecting the Company or to which it is a party,
any securities which shall be received by the Depositary or the Custodian in
exchange for, or in conversion of or replacement of or otherwise
A-19
in
respect
of, such Deposited Securities shall, to the extent permitted by law, be
substituted for and treated as Deposited Securities under the Deposit Agreement,
and the Receipts shall, subject to the provisions of the Deposit Agreement
and
applicable law, evidence ADSs representing the right to receive such additional
or replacement securities, as applicable. The Depositary may, with
the Company's approval, and shall, if the Company shall so request, subject
to
the terms of the Deposit Agreement and receipt by the Depositary of (a) a
written opinion of U.S. counsel (reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary)
stating whether or not: (1) such exchange, conversion or
replacement requires registration of such securities under the Securities Act
and/or Exchange Act or (2) such exchange, conversion or replacement of such
securities as then contemplated is exempt from the registration requirements
of
the Securities Act and/or Exchange Act and (b) a written opinion of ROC
counsel (reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary) stating that (1) such
exchange, conversion or replacement does not violate the laws or regulations
of
the Republic of China and (2) all requisite regulatory consents and
approvals relating to such exchange, conversion or replacement have been
obtained in the Republic of China, execute and deliver additional Receipts
as in
the case of a dividend of Eligible Securities, or call for the surrender of
outstanding Receipts to be exchanged for new Receipts, in either case, as well
as in the event of newly deposited Shares, with necessary modifications to
the
form of Receipt contained herein, specifically describing such new Deposited
Securities or corporate change. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the
event that any security so received may not be lawfully distributed to some
or
all Holders, the Depositary may, with the Company's approval, and shall, if
the
Company requests, subject to receipt of an opinion of the Company 's counsel,
satisfactory to the Depositary, that such action is not in violation of any
applicable laws or regulations, sell such securities at public or private sale,
at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem proper and may
allocate the net proceeds of such sales (net of (a) fees and charges of, and
reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) for the account
of the Holders otherwise entitled to such securities upon an averaged or other
practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among such Holders and
distribute the net proceeds so allocated to the extent practicable as in the
case of a distribution received in cash pursuant to the Deposit
Agreement. The Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any
failure to determine that it may be lawful or feasible to make such securities
available to Holders in general or any Holder in particular, (ii) any foreign
exchange exposure or loss incurred in connection with such sale, or (iii) any
liability to the purchaser of such securities.
18. Exoneration. Neither
the Depositary nor the Company shall be obligated to do or perform any act
which
is inconsistent with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement or incur any
liability (i) if the Depositary or the Company shall be prevented or forbidden
from, or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms
of the Deposit Agreement and this Receipt, by reason of any provision of any
present or future law or regulation of the United States, the Republic of China
or any other country, or of any other governmental authority or regulatory
authority or stock exchange, or on account of the possible criminal or civil
penalties or restraint, or by reason of any provision, present or future of
the
Articles of Incorporation of the Company or any provision of or governing any
Deposited Securities, or by reason of any act of God, terrorism or war or other
circumstances beyond its control (including, without limitation,
nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, work stoppage, strikes,
civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions and computer failure), (ii)
by
reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided
for
in the Deposit Agreement or in the
A-20
Articles
of Incorporation of the Company or provisions of or governing Deposited
Securities, (iii) for any action or inaction in reliance upon the advice or
information from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Shares for
deposit, any Holder, any Beneficial Owner or authorized representative thereof,
or any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such
advice or information, (iv) for the inability by a Holder or Beneficial Owner
to
benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit which is made
available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not, under the terms of
this
Deposit Agreement, made available to Holders of ADS or (v) for any consequential
or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the Deposit
Agreement. The Depositary, its controlling persons, its agents, any
Custodian and the Company, its controlling persons and its agents may rely
and
shall be protected in acting upon any written notice, request or other document
believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper
party or parties. No disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act
is intended by any provision of the Deposit Agreement or this
Receipt.
19. Standard
of Care. The Company and its agents assume no obligation and
shall not be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or the
Receipts to Holders or Beneficial Owners or other persons, except that the
Company and its agents agree to perform their obligations specifically set
forth
in the Deposit Agreement without negligence or bad faith. The
Depositary and its agents assume no obligation and shall not be subject to
any
liability under the Deposit Agreement or the Receipts to Holders or Beneficial
Owners or other persons, except that the Depositary and its agents agree to
perform their obligations specifically set forth in the Deposit Agreement
without negligence or bad faith. Without limitation of the foregoing,
neither the Depositary, nor the Company, nor any of their respective controlling
persons, or agents, shall be under any obligation to appear in, prosecute or
defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited
Securities or in respect of the Receipts, which in its opinion may involve
it in
expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to it against all expense
(including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability be
furnished as often as may be required (and no Custodian shall be under any
obligation whatsoever with respect to such proceedings, the responsibility
of
the Custodian being solely to the Depositary). The Depositary and its
agents shall not be liable for any failure to carry out any instructions to
vote
any of the Deposited Securities, or for the manner in which any vote is cast
or
the effect of any vote, provided that any such action or omission is in good
faith and without negligence and in accordance with the terms of the Deposit
Agreement. Provided that the Depositary acts or omits to act in good
faith and without negligence, the Depositary shall not incur any liability
for
any failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or
reasonably practicable, for the content of any information submitted to it
by
the Company for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of any
translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an
interest in the Deposited Securities, for the validity or worth of the Deposited
Securities or for any tax consequences that may result from the ownership of
ADSs, Shares or Deposited Securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third
party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of the Deposit Agreement,
for the failure or timeliness of any notice from the Company. Nothing
in this Receipt or in the Deposit Agreement shall cause the Depositary or any
of
its agents to incur any liability as a result of any action or failure to act
by
any trustee under a Trust Deed governing the Bonds.
A-21
20. Resignation
and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor
Depositary. The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary
under the Deposit Agreement by written notice of resignation delivered to the
Company, such resignation to be effective on the earlier of (i) the 60th day
after delivery thereof to the Company, or (ii) upon the appointment of a
successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as provided in
the
Deposit Agreement. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the
Company by written notice of such removal which notice shall be effective on
the
earlier of (i) the 60th day after delivery thereof to the Depositary, or (ii)
upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such
appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement. In case at any time
the Depositary acting hereunder shall resign or be removed, the Company shall
use its best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which shall be a bank
or
trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New
York. Every successor depositary shall be required by the Company to
execute and deliver to its predecessor and to the Company an instrument in
writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and thereupon such successor
depositary, without any further act or deed (except as required by applicable
law), shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties and
obligations of its immediate predecessor other than as contemplated in the
Deposit Agreement. The immediate predecessor depositary, upon payment
of all sums due to it and on the written request of the Company, shall
(i) execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such successor all
rights and powers of such predecessor hereunder (other than as contemplated
in
the Deposit Agreement), (ii) duly assign, transfer and deliver all rights,
titles and interests to the Deposited Securities to such successor, and (iii)
deliver to such successor a list of the Holders of all outstanding Receipts
and
such other information relating to Receipts and Holders thereof as the successor
may reasonably request. Any such successor depositary shall promptly provide
notice of its appointment to such Holders. Any corporation into or
with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated shall be the successor
of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any document or any further
act.
21. Amendment/Supplement. This
Receipt and any provisions of the Deposit Agreement may at any time and from
time to time be amended or supplemented by written agreement between the Company
and the Depositary in any respect which they may deem necessary or desirable
without the prior written consent of the Holders or Beneficial
Owners. Any amendment or supplement which shall impose or increase
any fees or charges (other than the charges in connection with foreign exchange
control regulations, and taxes and other governmental charges, delivery and
other such expenses), or which shall otherwise materially prejudice any
substantial existing right of Holders or Beneficial Owners, shall not, however,
become effective as to outstanding Receipts until the expiration of thirty
(30)
days after notice of such amendment or supplement shall have been given to
the
Holders of outstanding Receipts. The parties hereto agree that any
amendments or supplements which (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by
the
Company and the Depositary) in order for (a) the ADSs to be registered on Form
F-6 under the Securities Act or (b) the ADSs to be traded solely in electronic
book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case impose or increase any
fees
or charges to be borne by Holders, shall be deemed not to materially prejudice
any substantial rights of Holders or Beneficial Owners. Every Holder
and Beneficial Owner at the time any amendment or supplement becomes effective
shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such ADS(s), to consent and agree to
such
amendment or supplement and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement as amended
or
supplemented thereby. In no event shall any amendment or supplement
impair the
A-22
right
of
the Holder to surrender such Receipt and receive therefor the Deposited
Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory
provisions of applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any
governmental body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations which would
require amendment or supplement of the Deposit Agreement to ensure compliance
therewith, the Company and the Depositary may amend or supplement the Deposit
Agreement and this Receipt at any time in accordance with such changed laws,
rules or regulations. Such amendment or supplement to the Deposit
Agreement in such circumstances may become effective before a notice of such
amendment or supplement is given to Holders or within any other period of time
as required for compliance with such laws, rules or regulations.
22. Termination. The
Depositary shall, at any time at the written direction of the Company, terminate
the Deposit Agreement by providing notice of such termination to the Holders
of
all Receipts then outstanding at least thirty (30) days prior to the date fixed
in such notice for such termination. If sixty (60) days shall have
expired after (i) the Depositary shall have delivered to the Company a written
notice of its election to resign, or (ii) the Company shall have delivered
to
the Depositary a written notice of the removal of the Depositary, and in either
case a successor depositary shall not have been appointed and accepted its
appointment as provided herein and in the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary
may
terminate the Deposit Agreement by providing notice of such termination to
the
Holders of all Receipts then outstanding at least thirty (30) days prior to
the
date fixed for such termination. On and after the date of termination
of the Deposit Agreement, the Holder of a Receipt will, upon surrender of such
Receipt at the Principal Office of the Depositary, upon the payment of the
charges of the Depositary for the surrender of Receipts referred to in Paragraph
(2) hereof and in the Deposit Agreement and subject to the conditions and
restrictions therein set forth and subject always to the restrictions on
withdrawal as may be in effect under the laws and regulations of the Republic
of
China, and upon payment of any applicable taxes or governmental charges, be
entitled to Delivery, to him or upon his order, of the amount of Deposited
Securities represented by such Receipt. If any Receipts shall remain
outstanding after the date of termination of the Deposit Agreement, the
Registrar thereafter shall discontinue the registration of transfers of
Receipts, and the Depositary shall suspend the distribution of dividends to
the
Holders thereof, and shall not give any further notices or perform any further
acts under the Deposit Agreement, except that the Depositary shall continue
to
collect dividends and other distributions pertaining to Deposited Securities,
shall sell rights as provided in the Deposit Agreement, and shall continue
to
deliver Deposited Securities, subject to the conditions and restrictions set
forth in the Deposit Agreement, together with any dividends or other
distributions received with respect thereto and the net proceeds of the sale
of
any rights or other property, in exchange for Receipts surrendered to the
Depositary (after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case
the
charges of the Depositary for the surrender of a Receipt, any expenses for
the
account of the Holder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit
Agreement and any applicable taxes or governmental charges or
assessments). At any time after the expiration of six (6) months from
the date of termination of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may sell the
Deposited Securities then held hereunder and may thereafter hold uninvested
the
net proceeds of any such sale, together with any other cash then held by it
hereunder, in an unsegregated account, without liability for interest for the
pro rata benefit of the Holders whose Receipts have not theretofore been
surrendered, such Holders thereupon becoming general creditors of the Depositary
with respect to such net proceeds. After making such sale, the
Depositary shall be discharged from all
A-23
obligations
under the Deposit Agreement with respect to the Receipts, the Deposited
Securities and the ADSs, except to account for such net proceeds and other
cash
(after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the charges
of
the Depositary for the surrender of a Receipt, any expenses for the account
of
the Holder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement
and any applicable taxes or governmental charges or
assessments). Upon the termination of the Deposit Agreement, the
Company shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement
except as set forth in the Deposit Agreement.
23. Compliance
with U.S. Securities Laws. Notwithstanding any provisions in this
Receipt or the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, the withdrawal or delivery
of
Deposited Securities will not be suspended by the Company or the Depositary
except as would be permitted by Instruction I.A.(1) of the General Instructions
to Form F-6 Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, under the
Securities Act of 1933.
24. Certain
Rights of the Depositary; Limitations. Subject always to the laws
and regulations of the Republic of China and to the further terms and provisions
of this Paragraph (24) and Section 5.10 of the Deposit Agreement, the
Depositary, its Affiliates and their agents, on their own behalf, may own and
deal in any class of securities of the Company and its Affiliates and in
ADSs. In its capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not lend
Deposited Securities or ADSs; provided, however, that the Depositary may, to
the
extent permitted by applicable law, (i) issue ADSs prior to the receipt of
Eligible Securities pursuant to Section 2.3 of the Deposit Agreement and (ii)
deliver Deposited Securities only upon the prior receipt of ADSs for
cancellation upon withdrawal of Deposited Securities pursuant to Section 2.7
of
the Deposit Agreement, including ADSs which were issued under (i) above but
for
which Eligible Securities may not have been received (each such transaction
in
(i) above a “Pre-Release Transaction”). The Depositary may receive
ADSs in lieu of Eligible Securities under (i) above. Each such
Pre-Release Transaction will be (a) subject to a written agreement whereby
the
person or entity (the “Applicant”) to whom ADSs or Deposited Securities are to
be delivered (w) represents that at the time of the Pre-Release Transaction
the
Applicant or its customer owns the Eligible Securities that are to be delivered
by the Applicant under such Pre-Release Transaction, (x) agrees to indicate
the
Depositary as owner of such Eligible Securities in its records and to hold
such
Eligible Securities in trust for the Depositary until such Eligible Securities
are delivered to the Depositary or the Custodian, (y) unconditionally guarantees
to deliver to the Depositary or the Custodian, as applicable, such Eligible
Securities, and (z) agrees to any additional restrictions or requirements that
the Depositary deems appropriate, (b) at all times fully collateralized with
cash, United States government securities or such other collateral as the
Depositary deems appropriate, (c) terminable by the Depositary on not more
than
five (5) business days' notice and (d) subject to such further indemnities
and
credit regulations as the Depositary deems appropriate. The
Depositary will normally limit the number of ADSs and Eligible Securities
involved in such Pre-Release Transactions at any one time to thirty percent
(30%) of the ADSs outstanding (without giving effect to ADSs outstanding under
(i) above), provided, however, that the Depositary reserves the right to
disregard such limit from time to time as it deems appropriate and may, with
the
prior written consent of the Company, change such limit for purposes of general
application.
The
Depositary may also set limits with respect to the number of ADSs and Eligible
Securities involved in Pre-Release Transactions with any one person on a case
by
case
A-24
basis
as
it deems appropriate. The Depositary may retain for its own account
any compensation received by it in conjunction with the
foregoing. Collateral provided pursuant to (b) above, but not the
earnings thereon, shall be held for the benefit of the Holders (other than
the
Applicant). Temporary COP ADSs, Temporary EC ADSs, Certificate of
Payment and Entitlement Certificates shall not be eligible for Pre-Release
Transactions hereunder.
In
addition, to the extent permitted under applicable law, in its capacity as
Depositary, the Depositary may, when a Holder of ADSs so requests, cause the
Deposited Shares to be sold and deliver the proceeds of the sale prior to the
receipt and cancellation of ADSs (each such transaction a “Pre-Cancellation
Sale”) prior to the receipt of ADSs for cancellation. Each such
Pre-Cancellation Sale will be (a) accompanied by or subject to a written
agreement whereby the person or entity (the “Applicant”) to whom the proceeds of
the sale of Deposited Securities are to be delivered which, (i) represents
that
at the time of the Pre-Cancellation Sale, the Applicant or its customer owns
the
ADSs that are to be delivered by the Applicant under such Pre-Cancellation
Sale,
(ii) agrees to indicate the Depositary as owner of such ADSs in its records
and
to hold such ADSs in trust for the Depositary until such ADSs are delivered
to
the Depositary, (iii) unconditionally guarantees to deliver to the Depositary
such ADSs, and (iv) agrees to any additional restrictions or requirements that
the Depositary deems appropriate; (b) at all times fully collateralized with
cash, United States government securities or such other collateral as the
Depositary deems appropriate; (c) terminable by the Depositary on not more
than
five (5) business days notice; and (d) subject to such further indemnities
and
credit regulations as the Depositary deems appropriate and may, with the prior
written consent of the Company, change such limit for purposes of general
application.
The
Depositary will normally limit the number of Deposited Securities involved
in
such Pre-Cancellation Sales at any one time to thirty percent (30%) of the
Deposited Securities outstanding, provided, however, that the
Depositary reserves the right to disregard such limit from time to time as
it
deems appropriate.
(25) Right
to Submit Proposals at Annual Ordinary Meeting of Shareholders.
(a) Proposals
by Shareholders.
The
Company has informed the Depositary that under ROC Company Law, as in effect
as
of the date of the Deposit Agreement, holders of one percent (1%) or more of
the
total issued and outstanding Shares of the Company as of the applicable record
date for determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at an annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders (the “Shareholder Proposal
Record Date”), are entitled to submit one (1) written proposal (such
proposal shall not include a Beneficial Owner's right to nominate candidates
for
election as directors at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders in accordance
with the terms and subject to the conditions of Section 4.17 of the Deposit
Agreement, the “Proposal”) each year for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders, provided
that: (i) the Proposal is in the Chinese language and does
not exceed 300 Chinese characters (including the reason(s) for the Proposal
and
all punctuation marks) in length, (ii) the Proposal is submitted to the Company
prior to the expiration of the period for submission of Proposals (the
“Submission Period”) announced by the Company (which Submission Period
and the place for eligible shareholders to submit the Proposal the Company
undertakes to announce publicly each
A-25
year
in a
report on Form 6-K submitted to the Commission prior to the commencement of
the 60 days closed period prior to the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders), (iii) only one (1) matter for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders shall be allowed in each
Proposal, and (iv) the proposing shareholder shall attend, in person or by
a
proxy, such annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders whereat his or
her or its Proposal is to be discussed in the Chinese language and such
proposing shareholder, or his or her or its proxy, shall take part in the
discussion of such Proposal in the Chinese language. As the holder of
the Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee is entitled, provided
the conditions of ROC law are satisfied, to submit only one (1) Proposal each
year in respect of all of the Shares held on deposit as of the applicable
Shareholder Proposal Record Date. Holders and Beneficial Owners of
ADSs do not under ROC law have individual rights to submit Proposals to the
Company for consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders but may be able to submit Proposals to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders if
the Beneficial Owners (i) timely present their ADSs to the Depositary for
cancellation pursuant to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and become holders
of Shares in the ROC prior to the expiration of the Submission Period and prior
to the applicable Shareholder Proposal Record Date, and (ii) otherwise satisfy
the conditions of ROC law applicable to the submission of Proposals to the
Company for consideration at an annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders. Beneficial Owners of ADSs may not receive sufficient
advance notice of an annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders to
enable the timely withdrawal of Shares to make a Proposal to the Company and
may
not be able to re-deposit under the Deposit Agreement the Shares so
withdrawn. The Company has informed the Depositary that a Proposal
shall only be voted upon at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s
shareholders if the Proposal is accepted by the board of directors of the
Company as eligible in accordance with Article 172-1 of the ROC Company Law
and
the Company's Articles of Incorporation for consideration at an annual ordinary
meeting of the Company’s shareholders.
(b) Single
Proposal by Depositary or its Nominee on behalf of Beneficial
Owners.
Holders and
Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual proposal rights. The
Depositary will, if so requested by (a) Beneficial Owner(s) as of the applicable
ADS Record Date that own(s), individually or as a group, at least 51% of the
ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (such Beneficial Owner(s),
the “Submitting Holder(s)”), submit to the Company for consideration at
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders one (1) Proposal each
year, provided that: (i) the Proposal submitted to the
Depositary by the Submitting Holder(s) is in the Chinese language and does
not
exceed 300 Chinese characters (including the reason(s) for the Proposal and
all
punctuation marks) in length, (ii) the Proposal is submitted to the Depositary
by the Submitting Holder(s) at least two (2) Business Days prior to the
expiration of the Submission Period, (iii) the Proposal is accompanied by a
written certificate signed by each Submitting Holder, addressed to the
Depositary and the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and
the
Company (the “First Proposal Certificate”), certifying, inter
alia, (w) that each Submitting Holder has only certified the said Proposal,
(x) that the Submitting Holder(s) own(s), individually or in the aggregate,
at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the date the Proposal is submitted
by
the Submitting Holder(s) to the Depositary (the “Proposal Submission
Date”), (y) if the Proposal Submission Date is (i) on or
A-26
after
the
applicable ADS Record Date, that the Submitting Holder(s) owned at least 51%
of
the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date, and (ii) prior to
the
applicable ADS Record Date, that the Submitting Holder(s) will continue to
own
at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date and
will provide the Second Proposal Certificate, as defined below, and (z) the
name(s) and address(es) of the Submitting Holder(s) and the number of ADSs
owned
by each Submitting Holder (together with certified evidence of each Submitting
Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of the Proposal Submission Date, in
the case of (y)(ii) above, and the applicable ADS Record Date, in the case
of
(y)(i) above), (iv) if the Proposal Submission Date is prior to the applicable
ADS Record Date, the Submitting Holder(s) must also provide, within five (5)
Business Days after the applicable ADS Record Date, a second written certificate
signed by each Submitting Holder, addressed to the Depositary and the Company
and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the “Second
Proposal Certificate”), certifying, inter alia, that the Submitting
Holder(s) continued to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the
applicable ADS Record Date (together with certified evidence of each Submitting
Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of such applicable ADS Record
Date), (v) the Proposal is accompanied by a joint and several irrevocable
undertaking of all Submitting Holders (which undertaking may be contained in
the
First Proposal Certificate or the Second Proposal Certificate) that each such
Submitting Holder shall pay all fees and expenses incurred in relation to the
submission of the Proposal for voting at the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company’s shareholders (including, but not limited to, the costs and expenses of
the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, to attend
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders), (vi) the Shares
registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee as representative of
the
Holders and Beneficial Owners constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total
issued and outstanding Shares of the Company as of the Shareholder Proposal
Record Date, (vii) such Proposal contains only one (1) matter for consideration
at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders, and (viii) the
Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, attend(s) the
annual ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders and take(s) part in the
discussions of the Proposal in the Chinese language,
providedfurtherthat only one (1) individual may attend, and
take part in the discussion of the Proposal at such annual ordinary meeting
on
behalf of a Submitting Holder(s). Each Beneficial Owner hereby agrees
and acknowledges that (i) if the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or
their
representative, does not attend the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders, the chairman of such meeting may ask the attending shareholders
to
discuss, or not discuss, the Proposal, and (ii) in no event shall a Submitting
Holder’s, or his, her, its or their representative's, presence at an annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders entitle such Submitting
Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, to vote the Shares
represented by such Submitting Holder’s ADSs (or any other ADSs) at such annual
ordinary meeting of the Company’s shareholders.
Upon
the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Proposal which the Depositary reasonably
believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding paragraph,
the
Depositary shall submit a copy of such Proposal and of the other materials
received from the Submitting Holder(s) to the Company prior to the expiration
of
the Submission Period. Any Proposal so submitted as to which the
Depositary has not received within five (5) Business Days after the applicable
ADS Record Date any Second Proposal Certificate required under the immediately
preceding paragraph shall be deemed irrevocably withdrawn at the expiration
of
A-27
such
five
(5) Business Day period. In the event the Depositary receives more
than one (1) Proposal by a Submitting Holder, or a group of Submitting Holders,
each of which appears to satisfy the requirements set forth in the immediately
preceding paragraph, the Depositary is hereby authorized and instructed to
disregard all Proposals received from such Submitting Holder(s), except for
the
first Proposal received by the Depositary from such Submitting Holder(s) and
shall submit such Proposal to the Company for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders in accordance with the terms
of
the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall not have any obligation
to verify the accuracy of the information contained in any document submitted
to
it by the Submitting Holder(s). Neither the Depositary nor its
nominee shall be obligated to attend and speak at the annual ordinary meeting
of
the Company’s shareholders on behalf of the Submitting Holder(s).
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company
has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not
be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the proposal rights, including, without limitation, notice of the
Submission Period, or the receipt of any Proposal(s) from Submitting Holders,
or
of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons, except that the Depositary shall,
upon a Holder's request, inform such Holder of the total number of ADSs then
issued and outstanding..
(26) Right
to Submit Nominations at Meeting of Shareholders.
(a) No
Right Absent Amendment to Articles of Incorporation.
No
rights
under this paragraph shall be effective absent an amendment to the Company’s
Articles of Incorporation adopting a system whereby candidates may be nominated
by holders of Shares to serve on the Company’s board of directors (a
“Candidate Nomination System”) and any rights so arising shall, at all
times, be subject to the provisions of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation,
as amended, and ROC Company Law, as amended.
(b) Nominations
by Shareholders.
The
Company has informed the Depositary that under ROC Company Law, in the event
that the Company amends its Articles of Incorporation to adopt a Candidate
Nomination System, holders of one percent (1%) or more of the total issued
and
outstanding Shares of the Company as of the applicable record date for
determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at a meeting of the
Company’s shareholders (the “Candidate Nomination Record Date”), would be
entitled to submit a roster of candidates (the “Nomination”) to be
considered for nomination to the Company’s board of directors at a meeting of
the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors, provided
that: (i) the number of director candidates contained in the Nomination
shall not exceed the number of the directors to be elected at such meeting,
(ii)
the Nomination is submitted to the Company prior to the expiration of the period
for submission of Nominations (the “Nomination Submission Period”)
announced by the Company (which Nomination Submission Period, the number of
the
directors to be elected, the place for eligible shareholders to submit the
Nomination and other applicable information the Company
A-28
undertakes
to announce publicly in a report on Form 6-K submitted to the Commission prior
to the commencement of the 60 days (for an ordinary meeting) or 30 days (for
an
extraordinary meeting) closed period prior to the subject meeting of the
Company’s shareholders), (iii) the Nomination shall contain the name,
educational background and past work experience of each director candidate
identified in the Nomination, (iv) the Nomination shall include a letter of
consent issued by each director candidate identified in the Nomination
consenting to act as director if she/he/it is elected as such, (v) a written
statement by each director candidate assuring that she/he/it is not in violation
of any of the circumstances set forth in Article 30 of the ROC Company Law,
as
amended, (vi) if a director candidate is a corporate shareholder of the Company
(which cannot be the Depositary or its nominee), or such corporate shareholder's
representative, additional information and documents reflecting the basic
registration information of such corporate shareholder and the document
certifying the number of Shares in its possession have been included, and (vii)
any further conditions under Article 192-1 of the ROC Company Law, as amended,
and of the Company’s amended Articles of Incorporation are so
satisfied. In the event that the Company were to amend its Articles
of Incorporation to adopt a Candidate Nomination System, as holder of the
Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee would be entitled, provided
the conditions of the Company’s amended Articles of Incorporation are satisfied,
to submit only one (1) Nomination for each meeting involving the election of
directors in respect of all of the Shares held on deposit as of the Candidate
Nomination Record Date. The Company shall promptly notify the
Depositary of an amendment of its Articles of Incorporation adopting a Candidate
Nomination System. Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not under
ROC law have individual rights to submit Nominations to the Company for
consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election
of directors but may be able to submit a Nomination to the Company for
consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election
of directors if the Beneficial Owners (i) timely present their ADSs to the
Depositary for cancellation pursuant to the terms of the Deposit Agreement
and
become holders of Shares in the ROC prior to the expiration of the Nomination
Submission Period and prior to the Candidate Nomination Record Date, and (ii)
otherwise satisfy the conditions of ROC law applicable to the submission of
Nominations to the Company for consideration at a meeting of the Company’s
shareholders involving the election of directors. Beneficial Owners
of ADSs may not receive sufficient advance notice of a meeting of the Company’s
shareholders involving the election of directors to enable the timely withdrawal
of Shares to make a Nomination to the Company and may not be able to re-deposit
under the Deposit Agreement the Shares so withdrawn. The Company has
informed the Depositary that a Nomination shall only be voted upon at a meeting
of the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors if the
Nomination is accepted by the board of directors of the Company as eligible
in
accordance with Article 192-1 of the ROC Company Law and the Company's Article
of Incorporation for consideration at a meeting of the Company’s shareholders
involving the election of directors.
(c) Single
Nomination by Depositary or its Nominee on Behalf of Beneficial
Owners.
Holders
and Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual nomination
rights. In the event that the Company were to amend its Articles of
Incorporation to adopt a Candidate Nomination System, the Depositary would,
if
so requested by (a) Beneficial Owner(s) as of the applicable ADS Record Date
that own(s), individually or as a group, at least 51% of the
A-29
ADSs
outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (such Beneficial Owner(s),
the
“Nominating Holder(s)”), submit to the Company for consideration at a
meeting of the Company’s shareholders involving the election of directors one
(1) Nomination, provided that: (i) the number of director
candidates contained in the Nomination shall not exceed the number of the
directors to be elected at such meeting, (ii) the Nomination shall contain
the
name, educational background and past work experience of each director candidate
identified in the Nomination, (iii) the Nomination shall include a letter of
consent issued by each director candidate identified in the Nomination
consenting to act as director if she/he/it is elected as such, (iv) a written
statement by each director candidate assuring that she/he/it is not in violation
of any of the circumstances set forth in Article 30 of the ROC Company Law,
as
amended, (v) if a director candidate is corporate shareholder of the Company
(which cannot be the Depositary or its nominee), or such corporate shareholder's
representative, additional information and documents reflecting the basic
registration information of such corporate shareholder and the document
certifying the number of Shares in its possession have been included, (vi)
any
further conditions under Article 192-1 of the ROC Company Law, as amended,
and
of the Company’s amended Articles of Incorporation are so satisfied, (vii) the
Nomination is submitted to the Depositary by the Nominating Holder(s) at least
two (2) Business Days prior to the expiration of the Nomination Submission
Period, (viii) the Nomination is accompanied by a written certificate signed
by
each Nominating Holder, addressed to the Depositary and the Company and in
a
form satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the “First Nomination
Certificate”), certifying, inter alia, (w) that each Nominating
Holder has only endorsed the said Nomination, (x) that the Nominating
Holder(s) own(s), individually or in the aggregate, at least 51% of the ADSs
outstanding as of the date the Nomination is submitted by the Nominating
Holder(s) to the Depositary (the “Nomination Submission Date”), (y) if
the Nomination Submission Date is (i) on or after the applicable ADS Record
Date, that the Nominating Holder(s) owned at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding
as of the applicable ADS Record Date, and (ii) prior to the applicable ADS
Record Date, that the Nominating Holder(s) will continue to own at least 51%
of
the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date and will provide
the
Second Nomination Certificate, as defined below, and (z) the name(s) and
address(es) of the Nominating Holder(s) and the number of ADSs owned by each
Nominating Holder (together with certified evidence of each Nominating Holder’s
ownership of the applicable ADSs as of the Nomination Submission Date, in the
case of (y)(ii) above, and the applicable ADS Record Date, in the case of (y)(i)
above), (ix) if the Nomination Submission Date is prior to the applicable ADS
Record Date, the Nominating Holder(s) must also provide, within five (5)
Business Days after the applicable ADS Record Date, a second written certificate
signed by each Nominating Holder addressed to the Depositary and the Company
and
in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the “Second
Nomination Certificate”), certifying, inter alia, that the
Nominating Holder(s) continued to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding
as of
the applicable ADS Record Date (together with certified evidence of each
Nominating Holder’s ownership of the applicable ADSs as of such applicable ADS
Record Date), (x) the Nomination is accompanied by a joint and several
irrevocable undertaking of all Nominating Holders (which undertaking may be
contained in the First Nomination Certificate or the Second Nomination
Certificate) that each such Nominating Holder shall pay all fees and expenses
incurred in relation to the submission of the Nomination at the meeting of
the
Company’s shareholders, and (xi) the Shares registered in the name of the
Depositary or its nominee as representative of the Holders and Beneficial Owners
constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total issued and outstanding Shares
of the Company
A-30
as
of the
Candidate Nomination Record Date. Each Beneficial Owner
hereby agrees and acknowledges that in no event shall the Depositary or its
nominee be nominated by the Nominating Holder(s) for election as a director
at a
meeting of the Company's shareholders.
Upon
the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Nomination which the Depositary
reasonably believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding
paragraph, the Depositary shall submit a copy of such Nomination and of the
other materials received from the Nominating Holder(s) to the Company prior
to
the expiration of the Nomination Submission Period. Any Nomination so
submitted as to which the Depositary has not received within five (5) Business
Days after the applicable ADS Record Date any Second Nomination Certificate
required under the immediately preceding paragraph shall be deemed irrevocably
withdrawn at the expiration of such five (5) Business Day period. In
the event the Depositary receives more than one (1) Nomination by a Nominating
Holder, or a group of Nominating Holders, each of which appears to satisfy
the
requirements set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, the Depositary
is
hereby authorized and instructed to disregard all Nominations received from
such
Nominating Holder(s), except for the first Nomination received by the Depositary
from such Nominating Holder(s) and shall submit such Nomination to the Company
for consideration at a meeting of the Company's shareholders involving the
election of directors in accordance with the terms of the Deposit
Agreement. The Depositary shall not have any obligation to verify the
accuracy of the information contained in any document submitted to it by the
Nominating Holder(s). Neither the Depositary nor its nominee shall be
obligated to attend and speak at the meeting of the Company’s shareholders
involving the election of directors on behalf of the Nominating
Holder(s).
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company
has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not
be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the nomination rights, including, without limitation, notice of
the
Nomination Submission Period, or the receipt of any Nomination(s) from
Nominating Holders, or of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons, except that
the Depositary shall, upon a Holder's request, inform such Holder of the total
number of ADSs then issued and outstanding..”
A-31
(ASSIGNMENT
AND TRANSFER SIGNATURE LINES)
FOR
VALUE
RECEIVED, the undersigned Holder hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s)
unto
______________________________ whose taxpayer identification number is
_______________________ and whose address including postal zip code is
________________, the within Receipt and all rights thereunder, hereby
irrevocably constituting and appointing ________________________
attorney-in-fact to transfer said Receipt on the books of the Depositary with
full power of substitution in the premises.
Dated:
|
Name:________________________________
|
|
By:
|
|
Title:
|
NOTICE:
The signature of the Holder to this assignment must correspond with the name
as
written upon the face of the within instrument in every particular, without
alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.
If
the
endorsement be executed by an attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or
guardian, the person executing the endorsement must give his/her full title
in
such capacity and proper evidence of authority to act in such capacity, if
not
on file with the Depositary, must be forwarded with this Receipt.
All
endorsements or assignments of Receipts must be guaranteed by a member of a
Medallion Signature Program approved by the Securities Transfer Association,
Inc.
SIGNATURE
GUARANTEED
A-32
Legends
[The
Receipts issued in respect of Partial Entitlement American Depositary Shares
shall bear the following legend on the face of the Receipt: “This
Receipt evidences American Depositary Shares representing partial entitlement'
[common shares][interests in the global Certificates of Payment][Entitlement
Certificates] of AU Optronics Corp., and as such do not entitle the holders
thereof to the same per-security entitlement as other [common shares][interests
in the global Certificates of Payment][Entitlement Certificates] (which are
'full entitlement' [common shares][interests in the global Certificates of
Payment][Entitlement Certificates]) issued and outstanding at such
time. The American Depositary Shares represented by this Receipt
shall entitle holders to distributions and entitlements identical to other
American Depositary Shares when the [common shares][interests in the global
Certificates of Payment][Entitlement Certificates] represented by such American
Depositary Shares become 'full entitlement' [common shares][interests in the
global Certificates of Payment][Entitlement
Certificates]”.]
A-33
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
ARTICLE
I DEFINITIONS
|
3
|
|
SECTION
1.01.
|
Definitions
|
3
|
SECTION
1.02.
|
Effective
Date
|
3
|
4
|
||
ARTICLE
II AMENDMENTS TO DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
|
||
SECTION
2.01.
|
Deposit
Agreement
|
4
|
SECTION
2.02.
|
Principal
Office
|
4
|
SECTION
2.03.
|
Submission
of Proposals
|
4
|
SECTION
2.04.
|
Submission
of Nominations
|
8
|
ARTICLE
III AMENDMENTS TO THE RECEIPTS
|
12
|
|
SECTION
3.01.
|
Amendments
to Receipts.
|
12
|
SECTION
3.02.
|
Addition
to Receipts.
|
13
|
ARTICLE
IV REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
|
20
|
|
SECTION
4.01.
|
Representations
and Warranties
|
20
|
ARTICLE
V MISCELLANEOUS
|
||
SECTION
5.01.
|
New
Receipts
|
21
|
SECTION
5.02.
|
Notice
of Amendment to Holders
|
21
|
SECTION
5.03.
|
Indemnification
|
22
|
(i)